NATURAL BRILLIANCE

Move fom Feeling Stuck to Achieving Success

Paul R. Scheele, M.A.
D complete guide for experiencing your potential
by the author of Ti,e PhotoReadillg Whole Milld System
"I ha orgIuoot scC{)nd
guessing l1lyclf and seeking
c\alil1ton, I 1nl
choices mjnd-fuly and am
cmtbtdt.nqdom
that I can evaluate and ;tlust.
What a relief."
jerry"eR, Ph.D.
St Co.d Stt! Umvtrt
N.1 Bn1ln
rm:.\! parnpaF
Nata Briliace
158 SC
Schele PwR.
Natal briliac.
282190
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"Never m my wildest dreams
did I expect an exlortion Of
stuck c via Natural Btilli:Ulce
to reveal the major oscillation
in my life. Natural Jrilliallce
made apparent what h:lCl been
tr'dnsparent for decades. It
revealed rdationships among
tangled feeling, attitudes, and
acnom. I've e
x
erienced an
immcte reduction of moull
taillS IIItO molehils. Lf the
occasional Insigt i a shooting
star, NaturJI 1riicc scc the
stgc for a meteor shower."
Bart Windm
Sot""Jr and CrllOIUC
IlOH'HlC1\t mining cOJ'ulum
Natu -. l BTlHi.Ulce
retkdt participant
Also by the ^mhOt
Book:
-n,l PholoRladitg le .Hilld System
Self-Study:
Nafllml Briffia/1C Persollal Lamill, COl/rse
P"otoJl'udill Personal i.ramilg COllrse
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Gt'l Aroulld To It, Holiday Cheer, Ideal I#'- glu, l/ls/mllalleoIl5 Personal
.\lagletim, Memory Silperclwrger, New Bdwviar Geui'iIlOr,
Nelli His/Dr Generator New Option Geuemtor, Perea J/<IlIlh,
PersOlwl Get/ills, Prsperit Relatiotlships, Sales Lctll' SelfEslfem
Supercllilrger, Smoke-Free, to-Mill lite Superharger YOIltI!ll/lless
Personal Celebration Tapes:
BEING, DOI1lG, HAVING, GEIING
Public Course Oferings:
PIIOIOReadillg, j'alllral Brillial/_ itlStnl(/or Trail/ill Course,
New}'jars Goal Sfillg HrksllOp
Corporate Training Programs:
+U professiollal pro ,!mms avai/able for (l/stomizatiOIl
Published by Learning Str.tcgics Corporation
Natral
Brilliace
Move from Feeling Stuck
to Achieving Success
by Paul R. Scheele, M.A.
I
PtDlD_ blP_PS L0l

0l!l0D, Vdy7dld, NiDDESO!

Learning Strategies Corporation
'East Wayzata Boulevard
Wayzata, Minnesota 55391-1836
612-476-9200 800-735-8273 FA 612-475-2373
Copyright 1997 by ca:nStrategies Corporation
^Rights Reserved Worldwide
"NalUrallrilliance," "PhotoRcading," "Paraliminai, " "EasyLear, "
and "Personal Celebration" are registered tradem:uks andlor
servicemarks of Learing Strategies Corporation worldwide.
Design by MartinRoss Design.
Library of Congress Catalog Number: 96-79312
ISBN 0-925480-51-7
^photOT faphs uubook an by PhotoRcader and Nanlral Briliance
reteat participant Sonia K.1tchian of Photo Shuttle: Japan 019<6
Quote frm Sliff(ealillg Beill/viors by Milton R.. Cudney and Robert
E. Hardy. Copyright 1975 by Lifgiving Enterprises, Inc. Copyright
1991 by Milton R. Cudney and Robert E. Hardy. Reprinted by
permission of HarperCollins Publishers , J nc.
"The Parable of the R.ope" from Tile Whirl Hole ;/1 Timl' by Peter
R .. ussell. Copyright 1992 by Peter R.ussell. Rprinted by permission
ofHarperCollins Publishers, Inc.
FIRST EDITION
January 1997
To Li
.
bby, Ben,John, and Scott Scheele. Youshow me each day that God
has gIVen m NatuIdI Urilli;nce as our birthright.
To Ea
.
n
.
and Beth Scheele. Thanks (or encouraging me to explore my
c;.pabilitles and express my potential in lfe.
Contents
Abollt tile Awl/or %
Pe 7
AcbJOwledglllcllfs J
Part !. Orietll to YOHr Natural Brilliallcc
Chapter 1: Reclaim Your Natural Brilliance
Look Uoth Ways: Run Over by Onc- Leanmg 3
Release Genius and Overcome Oscillations 5
Change the Way YOll Change: No More Stuck States 6
Di Jco`e the Four-Step Natural Billince Model 10
Beneft frm Natural Bnlliancc and Go Bt- yond 14
Sununary 16
Chapter 2: Understand Your Stuck States 17
Analyze Stuck $tJtes and Take the First Step Out 17
Diagnose Your Stuck State 19
Confont Your StOP Signs 21
Balance with Your Counterbalance 22
Notice Srock States When They Ilappell 23
Learn from Others Getting Stuck 24
Recoglllze Benefts and Dangers at Your Stop Sign 26
Behold Opporumies beyond Your Stop Sig 28
Pari Z. Gaill 'he Skills of NalllraJ Brilliallce
Chapter 3: ]pl o1 Five Jcples at the Heart of dle amral Brilliance Model 3 1
Principle I: Tolerate Amblgtlty to Realize Your Full Potential 31
Principle 2: Mah 5mUAdjustments Slowly u: Accomplish Your Goal 32
Principlc 3: Achieve a State of Being by &illg Not Doilg 33
Principle +: M:lllrin Outcome Onenuton and Increase Choices 35
Pr:nciplc : Change in Generative Ways for the Best Rsult 36
Take a Brilliant App\ach to Life and Enjoy the Benefb 36
Chapter 4: Release 39
Discover Tension 39
Release: From Tension to Reia.aooll I
Develop Skills 42
Sl1T1131) 48
Chapter 5: Notce 51
Step Our of Your Tunnel 52
Notice More to urvlve and Thnvt 2
viii
8Kc IDc 1t8t bIcQ IOJLDCc 53
!DCtc88C DutbcIuD:y ^CD:Iy 54
buDDty 63
LD8QIct 6: Ht8QDDU 65
tc8U 1 IDc H:gHtDl.ctlon: !I' 8 DI D8I Du LDDt 8DI 66
1DUJ88DCc :D 8C18t:DD._uc 68
LDDUDI D\t c8t8~JDc !CVct ^yyc8t8 69
I:c !Q IDc I 1C8t D !88:DD8IC !cs:tc 70
HcSQCDU V:ID 8tut8Jt::8DCc 71
buDD8ty 72
Chapter 7: 1D1v88 75
kc 8 \DD\I8DIs !ctSytI:Vc 77
bDDut !CtCcQIu !Ds:DDD 79
JcDcDI uDD 1tDcs8 80
!Dtc_tIc Dut :Dcs1D hDDcDIs DJtuID 81
DDk :DtD tDc bD8UDV 83
h2D\!c8t D\t i_DcsI LDDO 85
b\u18ty 86
Chapter 8: t 8Dt8 Ur!!iance to DtK 1Dt Du 89
c8Ft1DV ID Lc8F V
!ct ^It1IuUc 91
^D8y2C D\t HuI8 8DU bIcQ !y ID 8I\t !t1:8DCc 92
c HtCcyDVc: HcCc:Vc Dut LcIu8 95
c \cDctat1\' c. Ltc8Ic cV LDD:Cc8 97
c !cts:8!cD!: bI\Ck ID !I 8DU bccQ lD CcQ:D_ D 101
1D D!c$ 103
Pari 3:Apply Natllral Brillialce
CHaQIer 9: ^Ct1V8Ic tHt 8Iut8 Utuacc hDUc 107
QcD ID \tC8tct !D88:DILI:C8 108
U tlc !DCt-DD-LDD8C1Du8 h:DU 8DU !tcCDDsC:C\8 !!:Cc85D: 110
^CQu:tc DCt\I:DD 8DU bk:8 CDCDD8C:Du8y 111
LCCVct cV 8IDV8y8 WID IDcJDUy-h:::U 112
LC !I 114
LH8QItt 10: uap over Performance J8tt1ct8 V1ID 1\ttCI 8tD1D_ 11 5
c8tD !DV ID !lDIC!8O lIS
1:8CDVct LItcCt c8tD:Dg 120
^Ct:V8Ic DIrct ct1Dg 121
bccQ !I buDQc 125
l:DU VIUcDCc C! buCCc88 126
Jt\sI Dut !DDcth1DU 127
Chapter 1 I: ^QQtDacH Vt8UCX1Ca tDDcD8 V1d1Ltt8UVt Problem-Solving 129
HuD 18tU tDbI8y !8Cc 131
bDVc L:1c1::1:\ 8DU HVc !MUDX8 !tDDcD1 132
'tc 8 cV bIDty 133
8c tDc 8Sy 8y \t C! Yout JtZQ 134
!0DV IDc Ltc8I1Vc !tCDcD-bDVWg !tCCc88 135
XtctD:2c the !1DDcD 137
DD8DCc IDc _u81t8DU R cCI1VcDcs5 C! bD!uDDD8 139
1Kc Ilc 1_D! !8D 10 buCCc88 140
bct LD8s Dt buCC 14 1
Jtc8K uIDugD :DJusDc8s 142
LH8QItt 12: LcDcjItDut Path tD Personal Lc1Du8:TC
IeW Qt1DD Lc1tt8tDt 145
])0 m CV QI:DD \cDctDt 148
XctCS'1: LcDDc IDc !tCDcD !ssuc 149
XctC:8c 2: !tcgtZIc IDc LcIt:DcDIs I50
ctCSc 3: !tcgtIc IDcJcDcDts 152
ctC:sc +: Dggc L1tCCI c8::D_ 154
ct.:sc 5: b:Du8Ic luIutC DU LDD_c t:S!Dt [55
Excr 6: 8kc IDc c8t1Dg LDcD_c 155
Exerise 7: bccQ OCK D Cut ^CH:cVcDcDU 156
bU11\D8t 157
LD8Qttt 13: bI8y DD Jt8CK 159
ix
bcc D8t Du L8DDDt bcc. VctCDDc !ctCcQtu8!Jtt:ct8 161
cc IDc lc8t. VttCDDc DDI:DD8JDCKs 161
_ucDDD !I. VVtCDDc LututJJ8tt1cts 162
Jc JDcDtDV !t 8. VctCCDc 1tCDDcnt2 DLCc8 162
VctCDDc !DtccCtu8 8nC 1Xytc8s:VCJ8tt\ct8 162
JcV2tc tDc DV:8:Dc Jmct 163
LD8pter 14: ALtVateYour 8tut81Jt:11m1Cc L8:y 167
Appelldix: AdlllliCe YOllr Skills-Tips 1ro/ll the P^m|cl
Brilliallce Retreat 17 !
J8Kc cV HDutc8 IC Hcc8sc 171
2Kc cVHDuIcsID DUCc 173
bItCD_tDcD !DcJDUy-h:U LDDDcCI:DD` \D tDIC bI8Ic 175
^58\Dc \sc!u !DIu:c 175
JtC8IDc 177
^CDItVc \DM V:IDD\I bC-b8DDI8gc 179
Ltt8D Dut 8y tD buCCc88: ^CI1V8Ic Dut 8Iut8Jt Cc 180
!'C:cV Dut L8y 181
Bibliography 183
illdex 187
About the Author
Paul R. Scheele spends his "work" days in the ofices of
Learing Strateg1es Corporation overlooking Lake Minnetonka in
Wayzata, Minnesota. He co-founded the company i 1911 and serves as
It chairman. There ht worb [\^ r the company's vision by mnovatng
leading-edge human developmem technologies that create ways for
people to experience their potentiaL
Paul's breakthrough developments include:
PI/ofjRei/di", ||m|:!ild SYj/CI. He developed a system of lcarning
allowing the average person to process written information at rates
exceeding 25,000 words per minute. PhotoReading is taught worldwide
by licensed instructors and through a self-study course called rhe
PlrofoReadwg Ptr5mul Leami"g Course. He has also authored The
PIW/OReidillg 1lOle J\/md SYSIt"W book .
Pnralimiuanilpes. Through audio tapes, Paul opened a way for
individuals to make profound pCf)onal changes such as changing belief,
eliminating sclf-s1botage. and enhancing behavion.
latural Bn/Iinuce. Feeling sruck adversely afect everyone IIlteresred
III S-lf-development. Natural Brilliance allows indIviduals to eff orlessly
move through stuck states. When combined with PhotoReading and
the Paraliminals, Natural Brilliance facilitates even higher lcvels of
personal performance. Besides this book, Paul has authored the
Nall/ral Bri/fi(lc Personal uarPiPg Course and oITers a five-day. total
J11Cl retreat.
All of Paul's programs are steeped 1J three powerful human
development technologies: Ileuro-Iinguistic programnung, accelerative
learing, and preconscious processing. Paul earned his Bachelor of
Science degree in biology with an emphasis in psychology at the
Umversity of Minnesota and his Masters of Pdegree it:adult learng
at St. Thomas Umvcrslty.
Learning Strategies Corporation, licensed by the MinnesotJ Higher
Education Services Ofce ohhe Department ofEducatlon as a privatc
school, publishes, licenses, and distributes Paul's work. The company
also sponsors ttaIllIng \vorldwide. A catalog is available onrequest.
Prrface
Since age nineteen as a second year student at the University of
Minnesota. I have imlllcrcd myself 1 technologies of learning and
human developmem with a single question In !lund: Ilow can people
learn Illost eff ectively to use the tremendOliS resources within [Q create a
high quality of lifc? My discoveries from owr two decades of t'xploring
this question have been C3ptund inthiS book, distiled IIUO the four-slep
NaruraJ Brilliance model.
The N:ltural Brilliance model suggests a nutumprocess we engage III
when we lear effectively. As YOli read this book. you will quickly
understand how to usc It for your own success. You will le . rn about
Namral Bnlliance in Pan I, develop the skills in Part 2. and learn to
apply :tthroughout your life 1Part 3. It is your choice to goa IS yu
wish to go. Take it all the way. and you wll! overcome the blocks that
face you life to accomplish the success youdeternllned toachuc.
I n our five-day Natural Brilliance retreat. partiCipants learn to
rccogmze SUlek st;es 1 themselves by cxpenencmg the oscillations that
have kept them stuck for years. Then by living the model physically,
emotionally. and uHellectually, they discover the ease and simplicity of
taking a next step to gam balance, Ulller strength, and personal power.
They tap their genius wuh Direct Learlllng and the New Option
Generator-important hUllall development tools you will learn in
this book. Their stories of success are reported throughout this book.
Will yours be next?
The stones this book and the events surroundlllg them are true.
Ilowever. IIl lllost cases I have changed the names [Q provide anonYlluty.
Let 1 know how you enJOY using the Natural Brilliance model so we
can pass your experiences on to others who follow you.
Enjoy crearms the high quality of life you desire.
Paul R. Scheele, M.A.
xi
Acknowledgements
With many thanks !recogmze the naturally brilliant contribmors who
have infuenced the Natural BriUiance model: Druce Overmicr, my
Psychology of Learmng professor at the University of Minnesota, who
served on myboard of advisors and has cousistl:ntiy acted to promote my
explorations: Dr. John Grinder, co-developer ofNcuro-LingUlstic
Progralllllllllg. whose personal excellence and encouragement have
always inspIred me; Dr. Norman Dixon, friend and colleague in
England. who was willmg to put the message Out to others that the
preconscious processor is real; Dr. Frank Smith, the psycho linguist.
whose non-tndltional view of readlllg and iearlllg has supported
developments In PhotoReadlllg; Dr. Jerry Wcllik. professor. colleague.
and education rabble-rouser. whose wdl-placed hints have always kept
me growlllg IJl llly work; Charles Parry, experiential learing master, and
Linda Shrader, trailllllg specialist, whose brilliant insights in
collaboration wnh me created the four-step model I have christened
Natural Brilliance; Peter Klme, [megratlve Learning expert and life-long
learner, who encouraged JIle t develop the PholoReading program and
has served as a trusted collaborator sinee then; Patricia Dallleisoll, co
developer of PholoReadlllg, for her commitment to accelerative
iearlUng and high quality teachmg; Chns Sedcole in New Zealand who
reminded me that Direct Learning wspossible;Mark Kinnich, original
co-founder of Learning Srr.ncgies Corporation, who bUllt with me the
early models for resolvmg paradoxical hfe Issues; Marcus Wynne, who
shared hOODA loop with me
a
nd pOlllted out the natural parallel
between our works; Mark Orth, who introduced me to NLP and has
served as a willing consultant to me, freely sharing his brilliance on many
occasions; Rex Steven Sikes, the brilliant Mmd Design and NP master
trainer. who explores and expresses powerfully how to make deep
changes: R.ichard Bandler, co-developer of the N LP technology.
developer of Dc sign Human EngineCr111g, whose contributions to my
life are too numerous to catalog and for hIS brilliance in the field of
hUl1un development which will immortalize hun as one of the creative
geniuses of our age.
71
xvi
! I1gh praises and thanks co the committed professionals who helped
create a qualiry book includmg: the edit1rs, Charlotte Ward, Lynette
Ayres. Eric Vrooman. and Susan Savvas; the designers, Ross Rezac and
Marry Skoro; and my interational colleagues whose contributions are
sprinkled throughout the book.
! acknowledge the ofcers ofLearumg Strategies Corporation who
work unceasingly to provide efective, innovative human development
produces and services to individuals. organizations, and communities.
My fellow ofcers are Pete UOncttc, President; DJve Hen, CEO; and
BiErickson, SecLand Geneml Counsel.
Filially. ! salure with admiration and appreciation my associates at
Lcarlllng Strategies Corpotion for without them you \vould not have
this opportunity to experience your potential.
Part One
Orient to Yur
Natural Brilliance
Reclaim Your Natural Brilliance
You have gone to a store. bought a book and let it sit widlOlH evtr
readmg it, right? Well, read lls book and forever break the cycle of good
intentions that f111. Thmk of t mVs o| have waTHed to do something,
knew that you could do It, but consistently fdilcd to accomplish it. Let's
not count them: let's fgure Out how to get what you \e
Th 1$ nOt procrastlnauon are talking about. I mean the Situatons
where pnq ytt riunt:Iopred, at the same time a par of you hesittes
-wants to hold back-or find diversions. GlVmg my first speech at
Toastmaster's Interational a perfect example. Pan of me wanted to do
well. but a deeper part o|me wanted to avoid the whole di.Strous scenc.
Toastmasters Club #814 meets every Monday morning at the awfl
hour of6:30 A.M to develop pubhc speakmg skills. My assignment as a
new member ~ to deliver an "icebreaker" speech introducmg myself
to eighteen members attending the meeting. I SpCIlt the weekend
s(ripting, ping, and perfecting my seven-minute speech. Since [ had
already developed skills as a S(minar presenter, ! was not wared about
pn-entmg a prepared spt'ch.
I the frst of the three prepared speakers that November morrung
III 1978. As I \alkd to the lecter. my breathing \\" tense, and I fdt a
bit shaky arrangmg the notes in |ron: ofme. My nervousness did not
subide as I got into Illy presentation. My voice ounded f
.
,St and high
pitched. My heart was beating fast, and soon ! started feeling fllllt. I
paused mid\ay through a sentence to coUect nWlt and looked up at
the audience. The room blurred and rocked slightly fr om side to side,
and, when I ganced don, my notes receded rapidly from sight.
My strange long drawn au[ pause had scvcraI people giggling
nervously, waiting for me to complete t5emence. No such luck. l b!t
if I dId nOt sit down quickly, my knees would buckle.
2
ParI I: Oriellt f Your Nltural Brillilllu
"I-I've got to sit down," l stammered in apology. Palc, 1 stumbled
back to my chair. [ had no explanation for the questions, "What
happened? Arc you oby?" After the meeting, the club president's
reassurance that I could give it a unext week did not help.
That week, a part of me pushed forward, "Yes, this is something I
want to dD. 1 want to get better at public speaking." At the same time,
part of me wanted to get as far from Toastasters as a caf could drive. [
kept thg, ." call quit now. For Petc's sake, I almost passed out in the
icebreaker speech! It can't get any worsc ... k can it:" To alleviate my
failure, I used m my bt mind control techniques; self-hypnosis, mind
programming, visualization, and meditaton.
Good news. There ^ no subcolcious saboteur of my success. Bad
news. The next week was no better. I stood up to deliver my speech
again-same speech, same result. Only this time I had to run to the
washroom within one minute of sitting down. Flu? I wish. Flu would
hve been a nice excuse, bur, believe me, I could not blame any external
cause for my apparent inability to accomplish my goal.
At the end of this second meeting I stood up, just before the president
adjourned the group, to ask, "\uld anyone be willing to Stay aerward
so I can fnish this blasted icebreaker?" ^but three members stayed, and
I finished the speech with no problems.
John Seaton, the undisputed best ToasnmlStCr u the dub, came up to
me to say, "You know, PauL I had the same experience in theological
seminary when I had to deliver my frst sermon. JUSt stood there
gripping the pulpit and shaking a over. My professor said, 'John? Do
you want to continue?' But I couldn't say a thing. I could only shake my
head back and forth. 'John? Do you want to sit down?' I nodded my
hl'ad up and down and stumbled back to my sear."
"It may sound weird, Paul," John continued, "bur. aer seven yars of
giving sermons every Sunday, I Hill felt nervous when I gave my
icebreaker here."
^ he tured to leave, I realized John had given me a profound gi.
All at once I witnessed that everyone in that room had given me the
same gift. II' okay / leam houtcdo IIuS! This book has a similar gift--a
gift that all the best mind control techniques will never give you. You
have profound inner resources now avilable to you, but unless you can
bin access to them, they wi remain locked away as great potential. In
this book I shall show you how to fnd your Natural Brilliance and how
to use it in any area of your m by taking four small steps.
Red/im Your Nallmd Brilliatlct
Paradox: On the one hand we pmsess amazing g a human being.
We are learning organisms, bor into the world equipped to fnd
answers to problems that face us. The human brain. mind, body, and
(motions arc designed to make 1 perfect learers, providing us with all
we need for success ill life. On the other hand. even with all V1l
enormOllS capacities, many of us daily f.lce the reality of not being able
to accomplish important goals we have set for ourselves. Here we are
holding apparently contradictory realities. Natural Brilliance explains
why the colltradiction exists and instandy bridges the gap between
potential and accomplishmellt.
Natural Brilliance, a process unlike any single technique you Illay
have med. is a four-stcp Illodel for lifelong learning. It is r process fat
consistently breaking though to succcss in areas of your life where you
are stuck. Like a riddle or a puzze, the answer has been in your hands te
whole tme. Once you discover the answer, you Illay wonder how you
could have missed it.
In this book you vfnd how to release your genius-your NanlTal
Brilliance---tlsing it to overcome barriers that have blocked you in the
past t move you in the direction of your stlccess.
look Both Ways: Run Over by a OneTrial learning
In Mount Vernon, New York in 1960, I was five years old walking
along Columbus Avenue. Suddenly I spied I y oldest brother with his
fiend delivering newspapers across the street. Excited to sec him, I
called. "Lee! Led" waving my arms to get his attention. When he saw
me and waved back, ! dashed between t parked cars.
For years members of my family had coached me on the dangers of
crossillg stn'ct, particularly of crmsing Columbus Avenue, because of its
busy trafc. But in the next moment, the real learning behind all that
coaching would be permanenty set ill place. A big black sedan slanUlled
V its brakes but hit me with a horrible whack, sending me sprawling
onto the road. The next tearful hours of being nlshed to the hospital for
x-rays and poked by doctors scrved to emphasize the message: Look
both ways before you cross the street.
One-trial learning is something that remains a fascination to me.
While studying the psychology of learing at college, I wondered,
"When we learn something, really learn it, in a way we never forget it,
what is involved?" If there is a natural and easy method to gain access to
J
When referring to mind or body
mind in this text I am refrring to
all physiological, cognitive, and
afve processes and processing
capabilities.
You wr not b with the habit
of brushing your teeth. With
pristent attentin. over a pro
of time, you developed the habit
Now, Il bet you would never
cOider going a wek without
brushing.

P.1ft 1: Or/tut to lu, Naturallrilliatlu
the ITHler learer. how does it work? Can we ledrn [Q solve problems dd
achieve success using such a method?
Years of IIlqlllry pomted to a simple conclusion: Y!5! To disco\'cr the
model for how to achieve such success in learing. watch babK. Infants
and toddlers arc naturally brilliant learners. Babies go for what Interest
them in the moment. Thly grab, see. hedr. smell. fed. and taste it. They
engage their full faculties. and everything their experience instructs
tht111 how to proceed to ctutrSllccess. As adults you and I dre the same
magnificent creatons, With bodies and brains that Icaitefectively.
Our abihty to learn and iuence our OllgOlllg bthaVlOf servcs at the
sallie moment as our greatest asset and our greatest curse. Crcanuts of
habit, we make life (asy to sUr\i"e and simple [0 manage by creanng
daily romintsalmost \Ike programming a robot. Um, our power ro
learn and habituate behaviors can also trap us.
Imaginc the curse ofhving with a robot programmed with faulty or
erroneous information. Our potential to pick up bad habit can t:ke us
to dcttna:ionsfar bom whcre we wam to go. For example, learning to
aVOId sharp. dangerous objects helps us as children. until the dentist
needs to work on our teeth. As a parent, I \\rS so good at teachlllg my
SOil Scott to bewart of needles that he devcl oped a phobia of them.
Fortunately, a unique capacity conlS installed our design as humans.
Unlike most other crcatures of the alllI ual kingdom, we arc given a
special grace to use ollr mind efectively. have thc power to step out
of our robot selws, WHness our habitual and instlllctive behavior.
overcome fears and phobias, and. with WIsdom, influence our lives in
positive ways.
LyJa typifies the diff erence between animals and humans. Lyla_ my
brother's dog, was blesscd dnd cursed. A nux of Labrador and German
shepherd ga\'c her a field-champion nose. Uu,as a puppy, she got scared
when Glell accidenrally droppeda cooking pot dose to her. Her phobia
made her gun-shy and worthless in the field. On the frst blast from a
shotgun, Lyla dashed for cover and cowered umil Glen retrieved her-
not exactly what he had had nund when he bought a retrlevcr. Lyb
herself can never overcOIllt. htr fear.
Humans, with tht capacities ofh.igher-order thinkmg, can overcome
ullliting bhaviors and fears. In this book, you can idennf self-limiting
patterns of behavior that keep you fom your goals. With the Natural
Brilliance model you can liberate yourself fom those traps and realize the
hcne6b inherent 1 your magnifcent hunness-your brilliant filure.
Redoim)1" Natural Irilliluu
Release Genius and Overcome Oscillations
Review every instance 1 yom life when you faced a challenge and
owrcame it succtS fully. If you and I took the time to study those (nt,
we could create a model for eff cctJ\" experiemial lcarnll1g--a model of
success you could actvate to reledse your genius whellever you wanted
to. ThiS book concentrates years of that klild of study Ino a simple
four-sl(P Natural Brilliance model which you Can use to produce results
you d(!Sire.
Releasing genius i s half the story. When my colleagues and I at
Learlllg SmtegK' Corporati on studied how people fail, we discovered
a cOl1sistem pattern that invariably produced stuck states-an inability to
learn or make progress. Think of problems you have been unable (Q
solvc in your personal or professiollal life. YOli will find contradictory
forces. Part of you \\llt :o push forward and succet.d while another part
wallts ro pull back and not risk fdiling. True? The phYc3l, mtlltal. and
emotional systems oscillate with a pmh and pull that end lip freezing
your potential for achievcment. Natural llrilliance resolves these
problems [hat you haw mvcr before consistendy been able to conquer.
Imaincyourself bor mto the world, actively responding, interacting
wuh everrne and eycrythmg and meeting your needs. Every tllle you
recel\" a strong negtive reinforcement. it i s as if a StOp sigtT erected
righ: there in your expenencc of your world. Thereafter_ your mind_
body. and emotions will register `5:o! every time you approach a
slr situation. The more smp sIgns rou obe III any gi\'Cn area of your
life's expenences, the less willingness, courage, and creatIvity you will
exhibit a time goes on.
Let us say that twenty [0 thirty years later you want to accomplish
results || par:icular area of your hfe-relationships, physical health,
finances. or learing--but every time you ty [0 prs, yu pull back
internally. T he result is that you oscillate between pmh and pull and
never break through.
Osctllations produce stuck states-stagnant areas of our lives.
Oscillation and stuck States prevnt us from acc(' ing our natural gelllus.
The good news I that you can WIl1 your Natural Brilliance back and
achieve the results you dtSire.
5
You can't teach an old dog new
t Bu people ar not o dogs
and educatin i not a bag of tricks.
6
Port I: Orictt toYcurNaurol Brll|ance
Change the Way You Change: No More Stuck States
The Natural l3rilliance model has grown out of my years of work in
the field of human development. Exanlllllug what works and what does
nOl work [0 help a person change allowed me to notice a panern. You
may reach [he same concluSIOn b drawmg a quadrant modL
,.
On the xaXS put " prrscm situation" and "fumre suuanoll. On the
y-axis put " positive experiences" and "negative experiences." It looks
hke this:
Positive
Experiences
Negative
Experiences
Present
Situation
Future
Situation
RelaimYcurNoturol Brilliano
When you forru a grid llsing these . C you see a dear directive for
approaduns personal and profeSSIOnal change. It makes sense that
anyone haVing neg,Hlve experiences would move away from them
towJrd achieving (mure positive experiences. Moving away from
neganve experiences toward achlevlllg positive experiences IS the baSIS
for almost the most poSItive mind dewlopment and personal success
stategies. Billions of dollars of advice has been sold to people wanting to
make their lives better by this simple model:
Positive
Experiences
Negative
Experiences
Present
Positives
Present
Negatives
Present
Situation
Future
Positives
Future
Negatives
Future
Situation
7
8
Part 1: Oritm II YOllr Natural Brilliallet
Unfortunately, slIch a one-dimensional process ofchange leaves tWO
enormoLis gaps. Firsdy, you risk losillg prcsell positils that arc contained
uthe \ you arc hvmg your life today. No matter howbad things are,
there is "secondary gain," or some payoff, to the present Situation.
Secondly, olle-dimensional change does not take II1tO account the
potential of creatiujjlHure flfJatives. In other words, the grass is not
necessarily all green on the ocher side of the fence.
Positive
Experiences
Negative
Experiences
Present
Positives
Present
Negatives
Present
Situation
Future
Positives
Future
Negatives
Future
Situation
A model for human development must take into account all fom
quadrants ofthe grid. Ifnot, the enormous negative consequences of
losing present positives and creating future negatives will throw the
unwitting personal achievement aspirant into an oscillation.
Perhaps you have attended a day-long "success seminar" where
charismatc speakers whip yOll into a positve-thinking frnzy. Why is it
that the effect lasts only three days? Decause the pressures of the
unattended twO quadrants exert themselves consciously and
ullconsciollsly, forcing you to shift back into your accustomed stuck
Reclaim YOllr Nalilral Brilliallce
state. Even th e Declaraliol oflldepeltetcc spoke of this . .. . . . and,
accordingly, all experience hath shewn. that mankind arc more disposed
to suffer, while evls are sufferable. than to right themselves byabolishing
the forms to which thl.,
,
are accustomed."
To break the endlss oscillaton and stagnaton in stuck states, a mode!
for human development and change must account for Ufour quadrants.
You must keep the present positives while eliminating the presem
negatives. Simultaneously, you must maximize the fmure positives and
minimize flture ne!,rtives. Natural Brilliance does this and mote.
Positive
Experiences
Negative
Experiences
Present
Negatives
Present
Situation
Future
Negatives
Future
Situation
Applications ohhe Nantral frilliance model belp you growin areas of
your life where you have never succeeded before. Using the exciting
processes ill Part 3 ofchis book, you call remove the stop signs that have
kept you stuck and infuse your body and mind with new choices and
pathways to success.
Here is an overview of the Natural frilhance model so YOll can
succc ssfully make the changes youw:mt i life.
9
1 0
Port 1: Orctt YcurNattm| Brllioto
Discover the Four-Step Natural Brilliance Model
Consciously lISlIlg the four-secp Nat1ral Brilli'llc Illodel provides a
way out of stuck states by implementing the Ilatural learning model the
body-mind mes to accomplish SliCCess in learing:. Now, whenever yOll
feci youfelf entering a stuck state. (ucan reverse the normal course of
thing to move away fm failure to\ard SUCCl.
To say that you cansolve any problem faclIlg you is a bold cui. Since
the carly 1980s, I have focused my work on creative problem-solving.
higher-order thinking, and resolving paradoxical problems. During
thlSe ymI have created a model to artculate how sl1ccessful llldividuals
learn. I am excited to share thi four"tep model wth you :Iov.
Very simply. the steps are: llease. Notice. Respond. Witness. I will
expand the bnef descripnon of each step in Chapters 4 through 8.
Rrlcusc
The fIrSt step, Release, drains stress Ollt of the physical system.
Relaxing your body and mllld is the essemial first step to promote the
optimal state for leang-relaxed alertness.
Tension and resistance characterize a pcrson trying to change the
prent situation. Ofen. the penon s:rto avoid making the situation
worse. Paradoxically, oios:everything people instinctively do to remedy
a bad situation makes it worse. Paradoxically, the best solution may
be coumerintuitivc, that u,against what they 1Il1aUy thlllk wwork.
If you eCr leaed to drive a car wnh manual transmission. you may
remember how [ense you felt. Thmk of your initial response when yOll
realized you had to stop at a red light. on a lull, WIth cars pullmg up
behllld you. Tension in your legs and arms. Panic growing in the pit of
your stomach. Attempting to control everything perfectly. Athese
made It next to impossible to slIcceed. I remember onc fellow who
SWItched on the cmcrgency fashers, pulled on the parking brake, and
abandoned mpIckup truck. He knc he vnot going t succeed.
Tension and stress c:use us to narrowly focus our anennon. We
manage microdetlils and IllISS the big picture. It is almost impossible to
vimcour own paradoxical responses. We are tOO close [0 the problcm
and too immersed III the oscillating system. Breakthrough happens
when we make the connection that our attempts to keep everythmg
contol are antthetIcal to relaxing enough to be in control.
You can releas e iii many ways. Changing posture, eye-focus,
breathing, and thoughts can produce a cnnngefect. By draining stn'.
out of th( body and mind. you automatically dampen or minimize the
oscillation that keeps you in your stuck state. Simultaneously you restore
your natural senSlllg acuity.
.
The human >cr:nrsystems are capable of peCiNing min1e changes
1 the world around and within. Tension blocks this capability. Release:
Pull your forehead otT the tree long enough to see that you arc in the
tont,and immedIately options wil appear. When you put your sensory
systems back online. the second step of the model is possible. Step Ollt of
tunnel viSion, and the wrld opens up.
Noriu
Norice m
.
eans enterlllg a stJtc of increased awareness and paying
attention to mformation In the present situation. \hen you attend to
the
.
mput your sensory systems. you will naturally generate creatIve
opoons and pronnSlllg rL'Sponses.
Helen Keller's bfe Story describe the primal life urge Otthe hUIll;n
organism-to make ensc of Its world. The human brain is a pauer
making devIce. t does everything it can to code and organize incoming
sensory perceptlons. Information processing is it job. Despite Helen's
sensory untu1ns, she had a profound urge to make sense of her world.
When young Helen finally understood \hather teacher Annie
Sullivan had been trying to teach her, e`erythig in her life changed. If
you havc ever seen 1r! le" Keller Stor, with Patty Duke portraying
young Helen, you know what a heart-wrenching moment it is when she
makes the connection bet\vccn actIons and meaning.
'W-A-T-E-R." The sign language m her hand, the feeling of the
water fowing from the pump, the shape of the word her mouth a
connected. Then, the est of Helen's world cascaded together, and
II
1 2
Plrf 1 : OriePt to YOllf Nallmd BrilIillu
patterns began forming a cohesive whole.
The speed of the mind is tremendous. The inner mind works at
making associations much faster than the conscious mind can duplicate.
When given the proper direction, the whole mind can accomplish
vinually any problemsolving task.
The step of Noticillg involves becoming aware of what is happening
around and in you. We have fve physical senses to percei\'e our outside
world. Corresponding to each is a similar sensory system represented in
the mind. External sensory perceptions include all the information
coming imo the five physical sensory systems. Internal perceptions
include inner pictures, imaginings, memories, emotional feelings,
remembered tactile sensations, internal dialogue, voices and other
sounds, even remembered smells and tastes.
From the rich information about your outer experience and inner
experience, you can make decisions and respond t people and events.
You can also develop a new point of view, a perceptual position other
than being stuck. You can see what you are doing in the situation in
which you doing it.
The advantage of an "outside yourself" awareness is it opens the
possibility for balance. Think of a teeter-totter or a seesaw on the school
playground when YOII \ere a kid. Imagllle trying t balance the thing by
running on the top of it from one end t the other. Now, hop ofT it and
choose a new position to work from-alongside the oscillating system.
This te use your hands to dmpen the oscillation and bring tbe teeter
totter into balance.
By combining the frst rwo steps, Releae and Notice, you achieve the
optimal learning state, the state of relaxed alertness. Once you have
developed relaxed alertness and increased your foundation of
mformation, you can choose new responses from a rich set of options.
Rt.pold
A response either increases the oscillation and the inability t move,
or it dampens the oscillaton and i ncreases movement toward a satisfing
outcome. Step 3 involves creating a response in order to discover how
things change, for better or WOT.
Anything you do has an eiect, according to NeWtOn's la\, of physics.
The objective of doing something, anything, is to pull yourself out of
your stuck state so you can witness the effects of your new actions,
whether positive or negative.
Reclaim Your NarUMI Brilliatlct
Ps children learn t walk, everything they do plays into their success.
I used to love watching my boys whell they were toddlers. I remember
the frst time Ben stood next to the couch tumphantly balancing on his
pudgy little feet without holding on, his proud smile and gleaming eyes
unmistakable testimony of the joy of learing. He took to bouncing
up and down like a gymnast doing aerobic knee bends. Too much
bounce and he would lose his grip and f111 No problem. Up again for
another round.
Then one day he had coordinated muscles and balance enough to
solo. On crazy legs he dashed across the carpeted foor in something that
looked more like a controlled !than walking. Intently he developed
stopping, starring, and balancing without aid. Falling was perfectly
important feedback, not failure but another step in the learing process.
The importance of the third step. Respond, is to take action. These
actions will either make the situation better or not. In either case,
moverem within a system provides real and lIlU ediate feedback.
Once your brain recoglllzes your doing (or not doing) something
makes your situation better or wrse, you have the beginning of change
and the first step i n gaining control of the outcomes YOll wallt to
produce. When you feel you can cause your life to get better, you can
generate a positive efect that builds self-confidence and self-esteem.
Witnessing the results of your actons-Step of rhe model-puts you
in charge of producing the success you want.
Htrtr;
In Step you fnd a nOll judgmental position fm which you observe
learg taking place. Whether your response in Step 3 has succeeded or
failed is not significant. The important thing is t get feedback that can
lead to learning.
In tns step the feeling is olle of safety and blessing. Emotional safety
and a sense of blessing were the essential component of my Toastmaster's
experience. You will experience them as Important evidence that you
have made a breakthrough.
Think how babies learn to speak their native language. They have
high intrinsic motivation to learn. They initiate their own learning,
surrounded by highly visible models. Unlimited repetitions okay, and
every sound they speak produces an omcome, not a failure. For their
efforts they get generous Support, well-spaced rewards, aud immediate
feedback. Everything they learn is reJevant. They never question
13
Ufe is made of millions of moments,
But we live only one of these
moments at a time.
A we begin to (hange this moment,
We begin to change our Hies.
O. Trinidad Hunt
Remember to Remember W You A
Port I: Orittr oYurNorurolBri|larto
whether they will succeed; they expect success.
Do you desire to break through to a new level of performance? The
Naruml Urilliance model leads you to replicate and reclaim me safety and
blessing of your narura1 learlllng genius.
Consider [hat no task ofiearnmg is more complex than learnmg a
language. Do yOll realize, you acqUIred many of your lanb'uage skills long
before you entered school? Unfortunately, many students th1llk of
school as a place of wounding. Natural Brilliance will assit you ]
overcoming your wounds and replacing them With the strengths of
safety and blessing.
When they learmng to speak. babies amomatically acknowledge
their own authority. Their self-esteem grows as they learn. The great
opportunity for you as an adult IS to witness your cominued learmng
each day. As you develop the Namral Urilliance in you, [he nsiuyou
create will light up your life.
Benefit from Natural Brilliance and Go Beyond
The four steps of Natural Brilliance-Release, NOtice, Respond,
Witness-are all skills you have already developed to a certain degree.
This book will show you how to activ:He your Natural Brilliance to
eloy benefts immediately.
LN your Nannal Urilliance shine throughom all areas of your hfe. You
can overcome the oscillations and stuck states that have held you back
when you have wanted to succeed. in die next chapter you can make
long strides toward releasing your gellius. I shall introduce the concepts
of stuck statcs operaung III your l ife and expla1ll 6\'e principles that make
Namml Brilliance an efective model for your own development.
Pan 2 of thiS book will teach you all the component of the atural
Brilliance modd, illdudmg the four steps and three auirudes essential to
your 1ll0VlIlg effectively through thc model. The chapters arc written III
a way for you to actually use specific abilities immediately and help you
achieve desired resultS.
Part 3 offers potelH new techniques, step-by-step processes that will
blow om useless stuck states, resolve paradoxical problems that have kept
you from achieving your personal and professional goals, and activate
your gelllus. You will develop the skills of Direct Learlllng, Creative
Problem-Solving and the New Option Generator to boldly create the
life you desire.
ActillltYour Gm;lIs witll Direct Iorttitg
Direct Learning allows you to take allthorit.ltivc written materials and
blast new skills directly into your neurophysiology at 25,000 words a
mlllute. Think how wonderful it would be to down]o"d the world's best
ideas into your mteral database. With Photo Reading you route valuable
Ulforation into your ITlner mind. Then using the Direct LCarlling
techllque, youacUvate powerful new behaviors directly into your
ongoll1g performance to achieve new results you desire. Direct Learning
t . nds at the pinnacle of human devclopll1<nt tcchnologies becausc of
the lilUllcnsc value it can provide you with ea. and comfort.
Wh11 you accept your inm'r mind as your ally in personal and
profon
.
al development, you can begin using it to make great strides i
the dlfCctln of your goals. The fun of Direct Learning is that personal
growth happens almost efortlessly.
Slli tilt Rell Problem
Chapter II: ppMh Htmdoiml Prblems wtli Cratil Prblem-Slvi"g
JIltrodu
.
ces an Important process for understanding and resolving
paradOXIcal problems. It shows you how to defne personal problems to
cnsure you generate solutions that work. It discloscs the St'crcts of
resolving problems that never seem to get better-no matter what you
have done in the past.
Have you ever worked hard to resolve a problem only to discover that
the problem comes back a week or t later? Crash ruet programs arc a
clasSIC xample of 11l1l1enSe efort followed by the returlUng problem.
OftentImes, the loss of ten pounds is followed by a gain of twelve or
ffteen. Some problems keep liS on an endless roller coaster ride Year
after year, the sme problem comes back--ofen
,
,th a \'enance.
Knowing how to define and approach such prblems will make It
pOSSIble to finally reach a destination of long-lasting success. Creative
Problem-solving will show you how.
Ctcrotr^eu Option:
The New Opton Generator, presented in Chapter !2,comes to yu
afer fieen years of de\'elopment. It wprobably be the 1110St sigfcam
techmque for breakthrough you will ever use. The process involves
seven exerCIses that lead you step-by-step fom Snick state to excellence.
The New Option Generator integrates the knowledge and skills you
lear from the entire book. It extends the Natural Brilliance model by
giVing you phYSical evidence of the changes that occur as you release
15
T PhotoReadig whole mind
system, developed by Learing
Strtegies Corporatin in t mid
lW acelerates t fding
process without speed reading f
increased comprehension and
retention.
16
Toreceiveperodicupdates furor)
year. justcall orwrteandmention
this book. You'll learabout
pandseminartohepyou
experenceyourpotential. I you
purchasedthebook directlyf
us, youwill receive material
automaticlly.
LearingStrategies Corporation
90fast Wayzata Boulevard
Wayzata, Minnesota 55391 USA
611476-9100
8007358173
fA611-475-1373
Port t:Oriet to Yur NotttrolBrillion~
oscillation, notice new choices, respond WIth commitment to desired
goals, :d witness me outcomes you produce. Doingthe exercises of this
process will pull out the Stop SIgns that Illay have prevented you frm
achIevingsuccc , reveahng the potentlal youwere born to express.
Summary
Do you already have a sense ofhow thi s book vhelQyou discover
your Natural Brilliance? This frst chapter has introduced you to the
techniques that will assist you uapplylllg thi s model. Natural Brilliance
is an approach to lifelong learning that can be applied in stages.
Familianze yourselfwuh the model and its bcnefts by reading Part I :
Oritl lcHwr `utum t:0ionc. To learn the component skills of anlral
Brilliance and discover the benefts in yomeveryday life, read Illrt 2:
Gaill tile Skill oj`1tumlti0incand practice the suggt'tcd exercises. To
enrich your use of amral Brilliance and gain maximum beneft, read
Part 3: Apply Jarurll Brillime.
What do you want to receive from your interaction with Natural
Brilliance? Feel free to c1anfy your purpose and Jpproach the book in
the way that works best for you. Above . enjoy!
Understand Your Stuck States
You know you need to change your life when you are not where you
want to be. If your present state does not match your desired outcome.
then set a gO<1 by asking yourself, "What do I \vant?" After speLifing a
deSIred result. you achieve your goal by flling in the gap between where
you are now and where you want to be. Using the four steps of
aturu Brilliance. you can create an e1egam path for achieving whatever
you want.
When your thoughts, feding. and actions arc flled \ith the purpose
oflivingyour Itsired new life. you magetize yourself. attractingto you
all you need. It is surprising and delightful the way resources come
rushinginto your mto fll the gap. Life can be wonderful and easy, but
50Illetiml'in spite of your best eforts-yourjourney mayfeel like one
huge Stop sign. Youknow what you wm, but you cannot seem to make
the results showup.
In this chapter you wlil understand why stuck states eXlst. how thL")
ultiply, which beneft keep themuplace, and what oppoTnmitles you
have to move beyond them. In Part 2 you discover how to achieve b'als
when everytlullg you have already tried has not worked. You will fnd
out what you can do when you stuck to activate your gemus.
Analyze Stuck States and Take the First Step Out
Brian tntered the ballroom through the back doors. "Stay right
there!" I said to him through my microphone. The 250 company
managers turned to look at him from their scats. I explai 1ed, "The
group has detenmned one simple task for you to petform in this room.
Your job u to fgure out what It is and do it. The only mformaton you
will receive is my nngmg this bell every tlme you do SOIl1Cthlllgwrng."
18
f
PoW I: OricntoYourNotura|Bri||attre
After he had volunteered to lake part ;n an exercise and left the
room, the group had decided to have him \lk up to the fup chart and
turn [he p,lb>
Brian ,valked into the room [Od the mm. 'ie mred to the lef
and the rang out " WRONG!" He stopped. With hesitation, Brian
\, ed forward toward the nip chart. Everyone Silently watched as he
turned away (rom the fp chart tOward the podium. The bell stopped
him in his tracks. He looked about without moving his fect, tentatively
tured around, and headed for the fp chart. No bell. When he \valkcd
passed it toward the overhead projector, he got a bell agin which halted
him in font ortbe fp chart. Now, more caucously than ever, he picked
up a red marker; "RING!" He quickly put it down. He tried a black
marker; "RING!" After the same rcponse with the blue and green
markers, Brian turned in frustration to f
.
1Ce the audience. "RING!"
Now he was fozen, his back to the fp chart. unable to move. After a
painful minute or of excTllclating silence. Brian said. "I give up!"
I looked at my watch and nOted the total elapsed tIIne--fin: minutes.
"Thank you," I said, "Excellent job! You did precisely what I had hoped.
Go ahead and take your seat; I'll teU you more about al1 this later
.
"
" May [ have another volunteer?" Now the audience froze. After a
rather grim silence. a wom:m named Jean stood lip resolutely. "Gread" I
said, and I gave her instructions to leave the room as Brian had done
earher.
This time the group deCided that our volunteer's task would be to
walk up to the table near the lecter and pour a glass of water from a
pitcher sittlllg on the water service tray. When Jean TCmrned, I expl:uned
to her, "A With the last volunteer. the group has determined a t;sk for
you to perform. However, thiS tune I will Tlng the bell EVERY TIME
you do something nght."
Recelvlllg the reassuring nnglllg of the bell with each move the
direction of the ,vater. Jean strode confdently 10 the mmof the roolll.
When she veered lef, the bell stopped. This effectively swung her back
to the nght direction. She spotted the pucher and walked up to H.
Conullllng [Q hear the bell's encouragement, she hfed the pilcher and
poured a glass of water. When everyone In the room roared their
appnwal (and dlSbelieD,Jean turned to receive the applause. She went on
to dnnk the \rer, which gave everyone a good chuckle.
" Door to pour-fifty-elght seconds," I announced, glancing ;t my
watch. Some audience members insisted there had to ha ^ c been some
UndtntndYttr$ttrh Saet
kind ofsttup. With that, Jean poured a second and a third, handmg one
to Brian and olle to me. We three raised our gasses to each other and to
the audience in celebration.
Over the years, thiS demonstratIOn predictably produces similar
results. A the frt person receives negative Telllforcement from the bell,
creativity and responsiveness go down-suppressed with a force
proportionate to the number of nmes the bell rings. At the momelll he
gave up, Brian looked incompetent and totally snICk, unable to respond.
On the other hand, when our second volunteer receives positive
reinforcement fm the bell, confdence. creaovity, and SUCCL'S increase.
Jean looked brilliant. confdem, capable, and creanve.
In truth, both people are capable. Both Brian andJend you and
I-were bor into life as naturally brilliant learners with a wealth of
creative reserves. What went wrong for Brian in my delllomtration is
exactly what goes wrong ill many areas of our lives. The best way to get
started on a goal wheu you clearly know that you are stuck is to frst
notice the oscillatlOll. You callnot release if you are busily avoiding the
f<et that you bouncingback and forth like crazy.
The chapters in Part 2 and Pan3 ofthis book will show you howto
break Out of oscillation. eliminate your stuck states, and switch on your
Natural Briliance. Uefore we get there, I invite you to undtrstand your
own stuck states clearly. Come to know the Ilature of your stuck stalL.
Then get on the highroad to releasingyour fnius.
Diagnose Your Stuck State
Diagnosing your stuck state can help you release stress and notice
more of what is b'ingall in and aroundyou. once how you keep your
stuck state m place. Keep this self-survLand discovery II1tcresting and
fUll. By diagnosmgyOllr stuck state. you dampcn oscillation and prpare
for responding in TCsourcefl ways.
The questions below will help you gain insight into your present st.1te.
Go thrugh them once lightly. Do not aim to be thorough here. TillS is
not psychotherapy or analysis; IhlS is an exploration of your currellt
Situation. Your objective will probably be to produce the results you
want m.
I) 11I1a1 i s the dierr"c bl lfI yOllr presemstate alld yOllr desiredoJlcome?
!ir whll tlrea of Ollr lif do you lot;Ct oscillatio,? In the Natural 1rillanct
retreat we invltt you to examine SIX areas ofyour life in which most
19
20
Pat l:Orcntto lui N.turo| Br||atce
people strive to achieve higher levls of nlifilhnem. These IIldude:
WorkiCrearing/Sef-Expressioll
Learmng/lntellecrual
Physical Wellness
Sodal/lnterpersonallConullunity
Family/Prsonal
Spiritual/Emotional
11'I,at 1IIT/Il pal do you fflizt III you, btlavior ill ctrrana c your life?
2) Uar pnsolal identity do you //IIIII/O;U ill r/mioll5lrip to this iSI1t? How
do you view yo4equuirdo you qll /0 yourstif "00111 tillS ISSlIe, enid ,vwl do
YOII believ fo bInle for YOII?
For example. I used to have a dilemma around television
performance. I viewed myselfas (ompctcnt presenter in every other
forum. " [ don't feel comfort;lble in front ofa camera. [ have toplay to a
live audience because I take my ctles from their responses. Give me a
speaking opportunity, and I'll be fne. lively and animated. Out, pmlIIe
on TV and I'm stlted and wooden." When you read Chapter I2about
the NewOpnon Generamr, you will ieamhowto change such a view.
3) Ihar is the predomillanr emOfro,,? Notice your feellllgs. your
emonons i nthe stuck state. Feel the feeling)OU expenence when you
feel stuck. Label them.
4) Usi" rill ifIjoatiM yu hgalltlt'd fmm tilt ft qllCliotlS wildt i s
yOllr rlllresol1ble parada? 111al 0pposlIIg OII(OIll(S do you urat tile same
tillil? In my Toastaster's example fomChapter I, I wanted to de\'e!op
my skills as a speaker, bUl I also wanted to aVOId bemg at the lectern
dehverll1g my prepared speech. A way to phrase this IS, "On the
one hand I want X, but at the 5.1me time, on the other hand, I wallt X
This paradoxical problem is your stuck state. You can't top and go at
the same time.
Benefit
Fear
* * * * * * * # N N * * * * * # * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Detriment
Benefit
Opposite
of the Fear
Detriment
U"d,rsta"dYour Swck Statts
5)WI,at lre tile belleft and de/rill/ems rside JJlrparadox? In Chapter I I ,
we will explore the Creative Problem-solvingprcess to gain insight into
the nature of your s[Uck state. You will discover the benefiu and
dctrimcnts at each end of your current connnuumof behavior. Without
conscIously rcahzlIlg It, you have wanted to aduee the beneft at each
end and avoid th detrullents at each end at the same time. It IS the
oscillation between these t slIlluhaneously occurring, paradoxically
opposed, unresolved states wuhlll YOll that defines your stuck state.
6) 1tjtar are QS100ated wilh your sfruk 1Mt/? Assuming that the truth
about you IS that you are Il1fillitdy resourceful, the fears are mythical,
based on faulty conclusions that you filed earlier in life. Determinc to
confront your fears to get the breakthrough you need.
With Natural Brilliance yOll make the choice t no longer stop and
go back whcn you f
.
1Ce an emotional, intellectual. or physical stop sign.
Your creative newchoice can be to pause, gathernewresources, andtake
action to achitvc your goals.
Confront Your Stop Signs
Whatevcr you Ill/' do sru(f'ssjllly in life is a model of successful
learnlllg. In the process of learing how to succeed, you naturally
followed the steps of the Natural Brilhance model. At least one part of
you vmfocused on accompushg the result that whatever happencd
vokay. Ifyou failed to achieve a goal one day, you learned fom It.
The next day. a Ittle SlIlarter and llloreskilled. you took the next step. In
this wayyou gained all you needed to ensure success.
Whateveryousftm lmable to acompli sh i mis a model of a sUlckstate.
Somewhere early in your life, as you attempted to use your natural
iearmngcapacities and accomplish your desires, you gOl "whacked" by a
failure. The: problem was not so much that you failed; the problem was
the inttllsity ofthe whack. The whack was a sudden advrse stimulus or
food of negative feelin and thoughts. That whack planted a giant red
OCt.junal stop sign 1 your path oflearning. Fmm then on, the stop sign
operatcd emorionally, physically, or Intellectually with the same ferocity
as the ongmaJ whack. Years later when you gOt the opportulllty to do
somcthlng1thiS are. of your life, part of you wanted to proceed; part of
you wanted 10 stop and pull back. You began to oscillate, whIch
produced a stuck state-thc mabihty to accomplish what }Ou dcslred.
Do you recogllJze the scenario that causes thc sUlck state? Let take
21
22
Part I: Oritllt (0 You, Natural Brillionu
the example of rdatlonshlps. A boy wants to be (riends wuh a gul at
school. A friend, a family member, or the girl he wants to meet gives
Im:a powerful punch i the body-mind. She may S,1y. "Oooh, get away
fmlll me. you ugy creep!" Or it may be a f.lmily member $lying, "You
a mshy, I wonder how you will ever get to know anyone," In ga
StOp sign. Many years bcer, the situation has changed. but the stop sign
still looms over his emotional ldscape. The boy, now a young man,
wants to date but agonizes about asking womell (Q go out with hm.
We erect smp sigs unconsciously as a neurologICal matter of survival
to keep us from rcpC<tll1g dangerous actions. Even though survival is no
longer at stake, the stop sign continues to function as if it were. Rather
than helping us, the srp sign prevents us from living fully. The good
news i s, with Natural Brilliance, you can pull stop signs down when you
1 t learn and grow.
Balance with Your Counterbalance
Consider that almost everything about you operates with opposing
forces. The construction of your musculature, nervous system, and
personahty aU W opposing forces in a push-and-pull dtsign. ?elevator
can serve as an analogy. Most ei-vators are bUilt with a counterbalance,
",llIch movt5 opposite to the elevator. \hen the car goes up, the
counterweight moves dowrcating a two-phase, or bjpilic, basis of
operation. The biphaic design works to your beneft. as long as you
use it properly.
A counterbalance ensures feXIbility. allowing an elevator to stop at
any pomion. You can think of a stuck state as the elevator car frzen
between foors, the result of tWO equal forces, directly opposlIlg each
other. Stuck sutts m people result from the wrong lISC of our biphasic
design. One force pulls. and the other responds with equal and opposite
force, locling the body-mind into an interal tug-of-war.
Normal operation of our musculature involves extensor and fexor
musck-s used i controlled opposition. Our biphasic design allows us to
move fonard and back and stop anywhere in bet\een. Similarly, our
nervous system uses counterbalanced sympathetic and parasympathetic
systems. The biphasic design gives us fexibility to experience emotions
fom love to fear and everytlung III bem'cn.
The human personality has biphasic construction. For example,
arc you shy or bold? The al1wcr IS yes to both. It depends on the
Undtrlnnd)owr Sluck StalU
Situation. You cate a stuck Slate when you act overly shy or overly bold
and remain that way. ChooslIlg to hve permanently at either end of a
continuum can get us into trouble, because our survival depends on our
ability to act and react fexibly across the entre range of behavioral and
emotional opflons. Problems, like mma illness and physical dIsease,
occur when the pcr;onality, nervous SyStem, or physical body get locked
IltO one way ofhving.
When fnd a comfort zone, it makes sense that we would want to
stop. But, life forces M to continue learning, groWing, and changlllg
v:u the acccter:ling changes 1 the world around tis. We need to move
ahead. When part of us wants (Q stop, the resulting stuck state stops the
learning process and the great rewards that life can offer.
You can change ill all areas of your life whert strong emotional,
physical, or imcllcctual :tt|ckstates have cOllstrincd or shut offle:lring.
Pull down your SlOp signs with the steps otlaturBrilliance. You will
eliminate stuck states because you instantly increase your options and
make new. successful behaviors possible.
Notice Stuck States When They Happen
Over the next few days, watch people approach their stop signs.
Obsen' evcryone around you. Listen to what people say and ,vatch the
oscillanon 1 their bodk'S. otice their ees when they hit a stOp sib'1l.
You will sec a characteTlStic double blink. With a blink, one picture
fhes of what t wm. They bLnk again. and the nC}l picture fash
of their dysfunctIOnal belief, what they do not \.
In hypnotic trance, the effects of oscillation become quite visible.
When was nineteen. I dearly saw oscillation between the states of um
and hml. I \ fortunate to study hypnoSiS \ith Zula Bowers. a stge
hypnotist-tured-therapist. One day a church youth group called to
request a dClonstTauon of hypnosis. Zu taught me entertaining stage
tricks [ became eager [Q try.
"Once you have a subject in trance," she said, ;;suggest that he or
she cannot do SOille simple act. For example, say to him that he can't
tell yotl his name. or suggest that hiS shoe is glued to the foor and he
can't move it."
She leaned forward and cxplall1ed with great emphasis. "Say the
words, 'No matter how hard you try. you rur|ric. Try, you (alltlot.
1Q!'I guarantee, Paul. It will work." She w absolutely right. Once the
23
Any strngth in t wrong L text
un be a weakneu
What stops most people in their
tracks is a small mental packet of
energy. It is called a thought. They
think -I can't,-
Rex Stelen Sikes
Founder of IDEA Seminars
24
Being stuck is a position few of us
like. We want something new but
cannot let go of the old-old ideas,
beliefs, habit, even thoughts. We
are out of contact with our own
genius. Sometimes we know we are
stuck; sometimes we don't. I n both
cases we kaYe to 00 something.
Inga Teekens
Counselor and instructor
The Netherlands
p:J 1: Oritn' to 1ur Ntural BrilliaNct
mner mind of the subject had accepted the sugestion that he could not
do something, no matter how hard he tricd, he could not.
If you relate this to the biphasic construction of our physiology, one
set of muscles is pushing with equal force as the opposing muscles are
pulling. The n'u ua stuck state.
DUring my Stage performance, I *awestruck as a sD foot man stood
befor" me, with his foot "glued" to the foor, unable (Q tell me hiS name.
Every pan of him strained to perform thc taks that I had suggested and
that he had accepted he could not do. The crowd was in hysterics. I was
thinking to myself, "Whoa! We stop ourselves every single day. We arc
takIng perfectly reasonable capabilities and throwing them abecause
we honestly believe (mlllol.
"
The phrase I (i'/ is thc most powerful force of negation in thc human
psyche. "rest its efcct for yourclf. In all those areas of your life where
you feci stuck, can you also hear a recording that you have played over
and over again to yourself and those around you? "No maner how hard
I l:mcall't sum c ... "
From the moment I saw that hypno[]c subject slnlgle against m:cB
on stage, l have devoted Illy professional life to freeing people fom their
self-imposed stuck states. My professional missioll centers on creating
learrung opportunites for peoplc to diover their v,1 resourceflness.
Then, I assist in their applying those resources to producing desired
results in theu lives. atural Briliance is the best way to qUIckly gain
such beneft.
I n yO\lr moments of trance, you may have experienced strong
emotional learning in which you accepted a life sentence of neg:t1on. In
those SituatIOns, yOll planted Stop signs that have never come out.
Discover how to pull out the stop signs and get back on the path to
realirmg the genius you have. The phrase Iratt w+replace negation and
point the way to new levels of achit' ycment.
learn from Others Getting Stuck
When I ,as in l'ortiand, a PhotoReading mstructor introduced me to
a friend at the Beanon Optometic Clinic, Dr. Roger Tabb. He is an
optometrist specializing in Sensory Perceptual Trallling.
He took me through several experiences at the t.tions he had set up
to help people overcome neurosensory stuck states. One station
conmted of a trampoline. On the wall in front of me was a piece of
UnJuJtund Your Stuck StttS
paper with the words TiE BO} IEI' HOME written on it. Just
below the sentellce * the letter `
[n this exercise I w to bounce al the trampoline. Every tulle I got to
the botlOm of the bounce, I was to perform a task of calling out leners in
a ullique sequlncc.
Afer 'tching me botch the LK three times, Dr. Tabb said, "I can
tell exacdy n bounces before you are going to make a mistake. You
always bounce back on the trampoline about nine inches. At that
moment, you break your concentration all the task to either review
what you just dId or to predict what's coming." I thought It amazing that
my body communicated nonverbally to Dr. Tlbb. He could see that m
attempt to do the tsk propniy actually prevented me from performing it.
Procrastination 111 the sales profession is another good example of
oscillation thac leads to stuck states. The salesper.>on \\':nt to make the
sale but does not \\"JIlt to be rejected. IJection of himself or his product
can throw minto an oscillation of "I can do this, but mproduct uno
good" or "My product 1 good, but I cn't do this. I"m no good at selling."
Procrastnaton, pumng off calling customers, ua solution. Like many
of our paradoxical sohrtiom to oscillation. procrastination is a solution
that sometimes makes things worse. Every time we procrastinate, we
osci llate. We may want to achieve a bal, but we also want to a\'id the
p<11l of doing what it takes to achieve it. The more we a"oid doing what
It takes, the deeper we mire in our problem stte.
In college I knew a student who had not graduated in the seven y
she had anended classes. Shei la ,uld only register for classes she ,as
II1terested in. After a quarter or nvo. the counselor would urge her to
take cor courses, such a chemIStry and math. Unfortunately, when she
gOt a difcult assigment, she would put off doing it unru lt w too late.
Invariably she ended up dropping out of all the classes she hated a
parucular major, until she could no longer receive cnough credits to
complete that major.
In those seven years, Sheila had had at least that many declared or
undeclared majors. Iler strategy for gomg to college was antithetical
to her graduatng.
In another case, I met a young man who had never gup. Being
nnmatllre and letting hrs parent support hUll, Andrew never had to face
the really tough issues oflife. Consequently, he never committed himself
to a course of action that produced anythmg more than a temporary
high from his emotional dLlenmla.
25
26
A stop sign is a gift foryou to learn
that moving in the same direction
won'ttake you any place new.
Rex Steven Sikes
Founder of IDEASeminars
Parr I: Orittlf Your NatNral Brillianrt
When his father objected enough. Andrewwould launch out 01 IllS
own for a few momhs until he had failed al work and ion mjob and,
ecnrually, Ius aparmlcm, Then he would b' back home agin, where
he would spasmodically continue making weak commttncnt to li"l a
self-suficient life.
What could possibly break the cycles of failure plagull1g Andrew,
Sheila, and the sales prcrastinators I dLnbed? Believe me, If you offer
to help, you only increase thelt oscillation. The chanb' must come fm
within. step-by-step, iearlllllg to rake an casler path to success. The steps
of Natural Brilliance engender internal change, Wthout pressure, while
minimizlIlg OSillation and increasingsolulions. Pthe changes occur a
a result ofexperiencing life fully.
Recognize Benefits and Dangers at Your Stop Sign
Fwe human beings narurally erect and p stop signs, need
to ask ourselves what the adaptive value is of each stop sign we
encounter. What is the value ofstopping when we ,ant to progress?
Certainly, as children, we must lear from Ollr mistakes. If a child steps
into the street without looking. as l did, he is lucky to have someone
Stoph dangerousbehaVior fast. Theproblemis that, when our stopsign
is an emotIOnal, psychological, neurophysIOlogical, or mtellectual
wound, we StOp learning effectivdy. Almost everyadult l have ever met
has sollle early emotional \fOundingas a learner.
mone I'hotoR"ading course a ''''man named Lisa virate at me for
her inability to get anything out ofthe course. Nothlllg she did seemed
to be working:. By the last session, she was in a rage. As the coune
opened that morning, she attacked me, the course, and Learmg
StratCgll Corporaton. Suddenly I could sec her oscillation. Thershe
wastrylllgto learsomethingandunabll to achieve the goal she wanted.
Spotting this, I lIsed my IIltultion to pull out the Stop sign.
"You know what tillS reminds me of," I said, catching her off guard.
"I remember a 'Oman in myclass one time who hada mnilar amount of
anger when trying to lear PhotoReadmg. It turned out that in first
grade her teacher hadridiculed her in fm of the entire class because he
made a mist.1ke while readlllg out loud."
"Oh, nqGod," she said, as the furrowof anger in her browwidened
to a look of stunned surpmc. "That exactly what happened to me 111
second grade." With her unfocused, as ifill a trance, she relived the
moment when the Stop sign was installed. "My second grade teacher
stood in the font of the class and said to everyone, Li sa i s never going to
amount to allythmg in life because SH CAN'T R.AD!'"
Everythmg Lisa had tned to do to Improve ha readlllg only
rClIlforced the message she accepted at that moment III second grade.
Whenever she couldnt do something in PhotoReading g . she faced
her second gmde teacher shnekmg, "Lisa is never going to amount to
anything!" Inside, Lisa ,as not the mature woman she appeared to be;
she ^ tht utterly helpless wounded second grader in a grownup's body.
Once Lisa cOllnected her experience with Illy story, she broke the
curse. She stopped her palllful oscillation. Her atural Brilliance
restored; her genius went online. fiy the end orthe fnal session of
PhotoR.eadlllg, Lisa w bubbling about ge1llg for her Master's Degree
and looking forward to using Photo Reading to biaS[ through the
reading. "I know I can read fast!" she said proudly.
Buckminster Fuller wrote, in the iuction to a book about Mara
MOntesson' work, a powerful explanaton of what challenges learg:
I children are bor geniuses. 9999 Ollt of every 10,000 are
swifty, inadvertently, degeniused by grown-ups. This happens
because human beings are born naked, helpless,
and-rhough superbly eqUipped cerebrally-utterly lackmg in
experience, therefore utterly ignorant. Their delicate sensing
equipment is, as yet, untried. fiofn with built-in hunger.
thIrst. curiosity. the procreative urge, they can only learn
what hmllalllty has leared by trial and error-by billions
upon billions of errors. Yet humalllty is also endowed with
self-deceiving pride. All those witnessing the errors of
others prodaul1 that they (the witnesses) could have prevented
those errors had they only been consulted. "People should
not make mistakes" they nllStakenly say. Motivated entirely by
love, bllt also by fear for the ftures of the children they love,
parents. III their ignorance, act as though they know aU the
answers and curtlll the spontaneous exploratory acts of their
children, lest the children make "mistakes." But b'nius does its
own t11nklllg; it has confidence 1Il ItS own exploratory
findings, in ItS own lIltuitions, in the knowledge
gained fom its own mistakes. Nature has her own gestation
r,les for evolutionary development. The actions of
27
28 Parr 1: OrifFI to Your Natllral Brilliallct
parents fepresem the checks and balances of nature's
gestation control. Humanity can evolve healthily only
at a given rate.
OUT culture has become obsessed with an educational system that
wounds many rypes of learners. Perhaps those who mislabel sUldents
ought themselves to be called "teaching disabled."
Behold Opportunities beyond Your Stop Sign
Dr. Buckminster Fuller peNonally told me one of his powerfl life
stories. Although he had achieved a high level of education, he had
failed i btlsines. ^sa father and husband, at tirty-two, he realized he
was never going to make it in life. He had bought society's negation of
his genius and giwn up.
He walked to the bridge in town and stood on the railing ready to
leap to his death. He then stopped and admitted to himself that he a
throwa\y from society. ^ he knewhimselfto be completelyworthless.
he decided he would dedicate the rest ofmmto an experiment.
Iexperiment. simply put, was "to fnd out just howmuch one little
man could do for the planet." I-Ie was fifty years inca his experiment
when he told me ofit.
He contributed numerous magnificent ideas and inventions. Perhaps
he ^ best known to the public as the man who created the EPCOT
Center geodesic dome at Disney World. A world-renowned architect,
futurist, author, and inventor. he developed the 6eld of geodesics. But, I
know him for natural brilliance.
Bucky Fuller showed me a key to finding Natural Brilliance. nelieve
in people's dreams and uy, "You CANT'
I knowhowswiftly and inadvertentlywe are degeniused i childhood
by well-intentioned bur misguided people infuencing our lives. A
symptomaChow this afects us is clear: have goals we are ting ha
to achieve; yet, year after year. we continue to perpemate stuck states.
[n the last t\'o decades I have come to knowthat it is as easy to learn
efectively^ it is to get stuck. Once yOll know howyou accept and erect
stop signs J your life, yOll will find it remarkably simple and more
productve to create what you want in life.
The rest of this book is devoted to showing you how to let your
Natural Brilliance shine to create what you want whenever and
wherever you run into an oscillation or stuck state. In the four-step
UnderstHid Your Sturk Stl(es
mode! called Natural Brilliance, you can acquire the methods for pulling
out the stops and having " AL SYSTEMS GO!" You can reclaimthe
truth about yourselfas a learner. Life is for fun and learning. Natural
Brilliance makes all learing fun and turns all run into learning. Enjoy!
29
Part Two
Gain the Ski g
Naturl Brilliance
Explore Five Principles at the Heart
of the Natural Brilliance Model
Enter Part 2 of this book with caution. You will lear the skills of
Natural Brilliance in the next four chapters, and an even bigger
opportunity awaits you as well. Thinking of Natural Brilliance as
practiclI1g four steps i:like trng to drink from a dripping faucet whcn
a "cr111 is c:5ading in font of you. You can gain inmlcdiatc benefits
with thi s lIIodei uyou approach it as more than a set of techniques for
self-devdopmcnt. Recognize the inherempower of mind harnessed by
the Natural UriUiallce model, and you will do much more than
O\"r'omc stuck states or gain access to the capacities for genius you nO\."
POSSS. You can cross the threshold t manifest your highest good in life.
[n the remaining chapters ofPart 2, we will c>\ore each step in depth to
elUfyou have the skls to apply themsttccc:smly.
Principle 1 .
Tolerate Ambiguity to Realize Your Full Potential
If I ask " Are you strong-willed or easygOIng." what would you say?
You would probably answer "Yes" because, although I phrased the
question as an alterative, in [ruth. you have the choice of acting om
both extremes and anything between. As a capable, mature human
being, you know that circumstances will influence how you act.
Although you may have a prefcr!llcc, in reality, you can act strong or
tasygomg as neces
On a connnuum of behavioral options, strong-willed forms one
endpoilH and easygoing forms its oppoSIte. Many people lear to lve
wulun cenam parameters on any oue continuum of options. For
example, If you are too strong-WIlled, you Illay act overly assertive or
obstinate, either forcmg people or refusmg to compromise. Sunilarly, if
32 P"rl 2: Gai" tit Skilb ofNatural Brilliallrt
yotl are toO easygoing, people could use you as a doormat or take
advantage ofYOLI. You have consciously and unconscIOusly defined a
range you Lcomfortbly li\within.
Many people were on hand to gUIde your defining your range of
choices. Those in authority toldyou, "ThIS way to behave uproper; that
IS not." They put a stop sign in front of you whene N er you behaved
mappropri ately Once you had ttabhshcd your ;'safety zone," seldm d
ever did you venture beyond the end-points of that continuum. The
comfort zone between the Stop signs became the unconscious lunit of
choices you consciously even considered exenising.
In efect, yOll mstiU be forcingaother choices of behavingto stand
outSide the stop signs, including your dIsenfranchised creative self The
Ilarural learing behaviors you used to explore yomworld in childhood
may still be relegated to a place al of view to those around you and
ofen even to yourself.
With Naturai lrilliance you can rediscover you are not one way or
the other. Tht secret to joyous learing is to recognize a wide range of
choices emotonl physically, and intellectually. Thinking about them
is not enough to retrain our nervous systems. You need to exercise
choices you mhave held at bay for decades.
[n Chapter 12. Natural Brilliance steps are sequenced into a change
prcess called the NeOtioll Gt"wtor Using it, you can locate the Stop
signs unconsciously instlled in your hfe and pop them out. To eliminate
oscillation, you 1Voporize the endpoint on the contmuum between
behaVIOral opposites. You can begm Integrating your options for
responding on the entire spectnullofchOICes. (the choices you could
nor have considered before suddenly become fllly available toyou. With
the NewOption Generator you can reclaim your creative potential.
Principle Z.
Make Small Adjustments Slowly to Accomplish Your Goal
Everything about learning to ny is unusual. Flying is a perfect
laboratoryto smdy people t1l1g to cope with an unstable environment.
One exercise i pilot'S rrainingrequires a special visor-LLke conpton
worn as a hood to prevent seeing outside the cockpit of the airplane.
The hood only allows a view of the front instrument pallel. The
objectve of the exercise is to tramople to fy onlyby the IIlformation
fm their instument, not by other informatloll their sensory systems
Exp/oft tie Fi.t Prilldpltl at til Hlart oj".t Naflmd Bri/lianct Modd
nught erroneollsly lIlterpret.
During the exercise, the fight instructor has student pilots change
hcadlllS and altitude and make many Other minor adjustments. The
typical response IS to overcontrol the plane. If a slight adjusnnent )
headmgof fve degees U. the tension in the sNdem's body and
the lack of sensitivity to the comrols will cause the student to over
correct by two or three times what is necessary. OvercontroUing an
atrplane th"It 111(0 an oscillation, which tends toworren the siNation
by swinbng n past the desired goal.
The experienced pilOt makes small, incremental adjustments with
relaxed patience. There's a sense of confdence about the fght-ther'll
be enough time. Rlax. Everything' going to be fine.
The harder you try to get 1lllStllck, the more dificult your task.
Paradoxically, trying harder tends to make the stuck state much worse.
Take the example of a relationship problem. Tryi ng hard to convince
people not be angry tends to make them angrier. [n other words. when
you push harer 10 handle one side of a problem, you end up increasing
the swing that keeps you oscillating. The more you ol ate, the farther
you move fom a solution.
When an airplane is nose-diving toward the ground, most student
pilots q to pull out. Their panic only puts the airplane into a spin-a
much more perilous Situation. i'arndoxcally, to pull the airplane alit, the
pilot has frst to push gentlyIIltO the dive. Then a rm over the wing
properly to create lif under the wi ngso that the plane can resume fying.
Then the pJiOt can slowly pull back to take the plane our of the dive.
Pulling out of a nose dive succ1 fully offers a himon howto handle
almost any other situation where oscillation occurs. Making small
adjustment is part of the solution. Three additonalprinciples foUO\
Principle .
Achieve a State of Being by Being Not Doing
[f I asked you, "What do you want to achieve," what would you say?
The goal yOli stated would be a desired result you want to create for
yourrelf or your fanuly.
[f [ kept asking the qut"tion, yotl would begin to identif the goals
that exist beJlIud your most obvious goal. What do you suppose you
would fnd our afer several nunutcs of mak_you accomplished
thaI goal, what even /IIort I1npo" a"t goal would you then want to
JJ
J4
Confusion of goals and perfection
of means seems in my opinion, to
characterize our age,
Albert Einstein
Pari Z: G"III IIII SkUb ofNat" ml BrilliallC
achieve?" That qUe5tion elicits a chain of outcomes as )'ou contnue to
search for additonal answers. At the end ofyour cham of outcomes wait
your ral goal, the end bOal. not b"als thar are means to the end. Natural
13nlliance has a way ofgently coaxingyour core bal into consciousness.
For example, i PhotoRadmg. we ask particlpanu to tell us what
they wamto achieve during the course. One person In each course
IIlvanably says, " 1 want to master the techniques of PhotO Reading." 1
then ask this person to participate 1a demonstration of elicitinga chain
of OlHcomes. The demonstration IIlvol. . es my asklllg, after each goal
statement, "If you accomplished Ihm .'af, what L'ven mof import/ll goal
would you then want to achieve?" The chain of outcomes I e]jcitcd
during one demonstrarion went as follows:
First Goal: Master the techniques ofPhoroileading
Be able [ con.. erse with people al work with a level of expenise on
various important topics
Get promoted and earn more money
Provide for the well-being and happinlofmy f
.
1lllily
See nqchildren growup into happy. healthy. capable adults
Experience the fililn{Ss of my own potential
Corc bai: Totl "beingnl'SS." a feeling ofroral peace
In thIS example, a with all the examples of this exercise, the bottom
IlIle is a cor state of being.
All ofthe goals in the cham of goals ar really means to the desired
r.'Sult. Often, people accomplish a goal yet feel unflflled. Ofcourse.
They were really trying to get another goal. Here is the interesting
dllenm1a: Goals ar things that you do, whereas the real result IS a state of
be",. The doilis a means to an end.
The problem most people f
.
1ce is that they arc unaware of the goal
behind their goals. /a ru they gl't fxated on d()iug to be and never
get to where they want to be. Many people illlaglile that If only they
could succeed at completng [heir outcome cham. they would then gal11
access to the state they desire. Unfortunately, few people ever complete
their outcome chain. Those who do accomplish several oftheir goals in
their chain of outcomes soon discover the emptiness of doil10 be.
Once guided through a process of examining their mner motiVtiolUi.
people recoglllze that the goal behllld their goals is the achievement
of a core state-an experience of full aliveness. They express It as
"beingess," "completeness," or "okay-ness."
It 3Cwe have a cultural imperative that to experience better sute
Explart til FilI PrillcipleJ al II I Htart ofIhl Natural Brillia"C Modrl
ofbeing, you must ear it by doing things better. The result ofthat
imperative 15 OSCillation, a stuckstate that many peoplt compulsively try
to resolve ullsuccessfidly. They have z stnlgIe because the only v to
flly be is to experience yourself as a human being, not as a "human
doing:'
Conmrae Andreas, 111 her book Core Transformations, suggests that
we Tverse the outcome chain to enhance the \Vy we do everything m
life. Start with the state of being, then you will be much more capable
and efcient at mthe actions you choose to do ulife.
Her process brilliantly breaks through the oscillation from "do" to
"be'" Think back to the (.'xamplc chain of outcomes from
PhotoReading, and it will make sense. [n tr.th. course participants will
be capable of achieving their goals ill the chain if they approach their
goals with sense of "tOtal 'beingness,' a feelingof peace."
Breaking Ihe "do-to-be" paradox is an integral part of the Natural
Brilliance model. I will show you how to approach Step 3, Respond.
from a powerful state of being. The decisiveness and commitment of
such a state fOCUSL' your personal power for effective action and SliCCesS.
Principle 4`
Maintain an Outcome Orientation and Increase Choices
AnOther key principle of the Natural Brilliance model is that you can
faCilitate your learning by concentrating not on problems but on
outcomes
.
ThiS keeps the 1ll1lld, the most perfect goal-seeking device,
oriented on achIevingwhat you want rather than creating what you do
not want.
Dwelling on our problems is like trying to drive forward in a car
looking onJy in the rearvlewmirror. We tend to think of the lim.itatioIlS
that the problems create. [t is easy to notice blocks, lack of resources,
mistakes, and blame. Consequently, we will most likely generate bad
feelings and rack ourselves with either guilt about the past or anxiety
about the future.
In general, focusing on problems is a sure way to continue the
Ol ation of your stuck state. On the other hand, focusingon outcomes
gers you 10 llnagille pOSSIbilitIes. By keeping your gaze high while
driving, you can respond to more of the passing vistas. From the
perspective of the long view. reviewing and exploring the paSt helps
generate CUriOSityand learmng, gIVIngyou clues to success.
J5
I do not have
Wat I o
Not do I have
What I do.
I only have
What I am.
D. Trinidad Hunt
RemembertoRemember Who YoAre
36 Part 1: Ga;" flt Skills ojNatural Brillianct
An outcome orientaton increases the number of paths you can take.
The Namral Brilliance model uses an outcOllle orient:tion in the steps
of Noticing. Responding, and Witnessmg to ensure each step you take
leads to higher leag.
Principle 3.
Change in Generative Ways for the Best Results
The Natural Brlliance model : a generative model for learning and
human devdopmem. It does mon: than fx the existing problem; it fxes
the \vy you created the problem in the first place. If you sat on a tack,
you would not run to a doctor for morphine to mask the pain. That is
remedial change which seeks to remedy the immediate symptms or the
problem. lel1edial change is the opposite of generative change. Many
thcrapcmic models try to find remedies for problems.
Generative change means that th process of changing a problem
generates its own learning for fumrc situations. The generative way to
remove pain if you sit on a tack i s to pull the tack out.
Remedial change tends to put energy IIlto IIlcreasmg oscillation.
Natural Brilliance nzes oscillation and srrcnb'thens the learer with
each cycle of theprocess.
When I consult with busincsscs. my job i s to tl qchnu1 how I
do what I do, efectively replaclIg mysdf and working myself our
of a job. I teach gnerative change. atural Brilliance, as a model
of generative change, encourages you to seek the most elegant and
efcient ways to become stronger. When you face a problem Siruation
with Namral Brilliance, you increase your problem-solving skills.
Take a Brilliant Approach to life and Enjoy the Benefits
The Natural lrilliance model i s founded on fve principles that match
the world's most powerflll and effective human development approaches.
It effectively resolves paradoxlcal problems, guiding rclacd, incremental
changes to increase your options. It is a model for "belllg to do," rhus
breaking the "do to be" compulsIOn of ollr culmre. Natural Brilliance
mllltains a powerfl outcome orientation, keeping your full resources
engaged in the most efcient ways for achievmg your goals. Finally, it
takes a generative approach to human development and change. /a
review, here a the atural Bnance prinCiples:
EXJ/ort tl,t Fi"t Pri/,rip/tl at tlu Htart ojtlu Natural Brillianct Modd
Principle I: Tolerate ambIguity to raze your full potential.
Principle 2: Makesmall adjusonemsslowly to accomplishyourb>oal.
Prmciplc : Achle\e a state of being by beillg, not doing.
Prmclple 4: MamUHl an outcome orienutioll and increase your
choice.
Principle 5: Chanb> in b'Cnerar\" Wfor the best rut.
In the next fve chapters you will ieam the steps of the Natural
Brilliance model, taking the knowledge and skills into your process of
growth and developmelH. Engaging in this learning model, you will
enJOY benefts fight .ay. YOl will find that Natural Bri lliance:
Naturally minimiz(.' the oscillation of your current stuck states
Allows for incremental shifts to\vards specifc outcomes
Iocuses on you as a comperent, capable learner
Allows you to witness your unfolding genius
ncreascs aWrencss of personal strengths
Elinunatcs guilt for failing to accomplish a bral
Eliminates performance an:aety you lea
In Chapter 1 , you gained an overviewof the Natural Brilliance model
and the techmques you can usc to achieve inunediate rut. Chapter 2
explained StOp signs, oscillations, and stuck states. It invited you to
explore where you wanted to break through and gain access to
your gemus potentiaL Chapter 3 has described the fve principles of
atural Bnlance so you can con6dendy use the model to accomplish
your goals.
Now that the overview is complete, you can guide your conscious
and other-than-conscious mllld through the process t reclaim your
Natural Bnlliance, Iady! Set! Pull out those Stop signs and let's Go!
37
Release
Think of how your day would go if you took a balanced and relaxed
approach to the event you encountered. When you relax, you expand
your senory awareness to process useful information. relaxation
increases the sensitivity of your physical receptor> and enhances your fine
motor control, allowing you to move effectively and efciently. When
you are relaxed. you can also enter expanded brain states and gm access
tc the resources of your other-than-conscious mind to increase learning
and choiclS. Perhaps most important of a approaching your day in a
relaxed way permits emotional and cognitive fexibility essential tc
thriving in our chaotic modern times. Step 1 , Release, gives you the
balanced and relaxed state \ouneed for success.
Your best performance begins with the release of conflicting
thoughts. emotions, or behaviors. Eliinating unnecessary oscillation
and focusing your body-mind results in releasing stress :md tension.
Unless they are acutely stressed, most clients l work with do not
recognize how tension controls their bodies and limits their thinking
process. In this chapter we will fnd hidden physical and mental tension
and develop skills to release.
Discover Tension
The opposite of release is tellSion. I t you ,vatch a large cat prowling its
natural habitat, yOli see the difference. The cat's gaze diverges and its
pupils dilate to absorb information from all around. Then, when
something catches its attention, instantancously its pupils constrict, it
cyes foclls, and it body goes on alert.
The same is true for you. \hen the systems of your body and mind
tense, they undergo a natural physiological and psychological effect.
Neither comprehension nor
learning can take place in an
atmosphere of anxiety.
Dr. Frank Smith
Reading Without Nonsense
40 P.m Z: Gui" flit SkUs OfNatural Brilliance
Your sensorysystems tend to narrow. Yourhearing. feehng. and thinking
focus. Limited input fomyour senses allows you to concentrate on one
thing at a time. Because your emotional and cognitive choices are also
limited. you stay on target, fe fmdistracting or conflicting thoughts.
Unfortunately, in the Information Age, such responses to tension
'Ork against us. We are required to solve problems and make deCISions
contnually; to meffectve decisions, we need to take in information
fcly. Ifworry about problems and dt"isions, our problem-solving
and decision-makingabilities COI15[ri((.
Anothernegtiveby-product of a JOt of tension is its effect on physical
performance. Tension in muscles forces us to use large muscle groups,
which work harder without coordinated use offine motor skills. Large
muscle actions cause us to over-compensate and over-COntrol. Per
formance gaL' down.
A classic example of this performance barrier shows up with people
who are trying to perform at entry-level standards for jobs; slIch as
stenography, zip-code sorting, and typing. StudentS for these jobs can
consciously learn all the skills the need to performthe tasks. However,
to pass a test. they have to releJse to get incoming information. Their
bodies must respond faster than their conscious mi nd can think. so (he
smdenl have [Q let g of conscious awareness to move at rattonly the
inner mind can produce.
Unfortunately, when the time comes for profCIency testing. many
smdenttense and too hard. They f:11 to performas well as they have
learned, let alone fast enough to pass the test.
Take a momemto fel in yourownbodyhowtensioncreates problems.
Gently tense your calves, thighs. stomach, back, shoulders, and
face. Take a breath and hold it for a moment. How do you feci?
How long do you think you can laSI like this?
Now release the breath and aU the tension. Notice what happens
in your body, your breath, your mind. The natural response to
tcmion is release. What do you do when you come hallie afier a
hard day? If you have a fr:e moment, you probably take a deep
breath and exhale with a sigh as you sit down. As you do, you
spontaneously release your shoulders, stomach, and back. What
do you experience aer release?
At the end of your day, when you frst he down and put your head on
rhe pillow, don't you feel wonderl? PermiSion to release comtwhen
Rftllt
you say to yourself" I have nothing to do bm rest." The body restores
and revitalizes all the systems of the body and mind, replenishing
depleted reserves.
I do not want to mislead you. The means to increased human
performance is not to relax totally. Too linle tension leads to Ineria and
boredom. Studies for decades have shown that our systems need some
tension for optimum performance.
Researcher and author Mihalyi Csikzemmihalyi refers to a "delicate
zone between boredom and anxiety" as the "fow State." Herbert
Benson, Harvard medical doctor and researcher, has demonstrated that
breaking the "anxiety cyck'" can be accomplished by initiating the
"Relaxation esponse." Photo Reading uses the fow state for
information processing with written materials. \Vhile Photolading,
the whole mind s\Vitch(' on. bringing readers into an enhanced state
and making remarkable capacities available to them. The goal of Rdease
is to bring the body and mind into an ideal State for perfomung.
Release: From Tension to Relaxation
Many thing cause us to tense and ketp us fom using our mrange of
resources. Any stimulus outide we interpret as dangerous vset off an
anxety cycle. Ofemimt'. a stimulus in our environment that reminds us
of a negative past evcnt automatically throws us :moa defensive response.
Sottimes we tense at television and other media bombardll1g our
seUSt. We can become habmlated [Q living m a state of tension so that
we harly realize w are carrying tensIOn in our low back orabdomen or
across the back of our neck.
As many paths lead to tension, so many paths lead [Q relaxation.
Numerous simple techmques can help us achieve instant relaxation.
Once I spoke about instant relaxation techniques at the noon meeting
of a local R.otary Club. After demonstrating a ninety-second technique
on six volunteers, r opened the floor for discussion. One of the
volunteers interjected, "Before YOll get into this discussion, I \nt to
share something."
The man pulled two pink pieces of paper out of his tweed blazer
pocket and continued. "These are two prescriptons for tranquilizers. I
receIVed them from my doctor today. I JUSt realized I don't need [hem
because, | that runety seconds, I became more relaxed than I have been
for the last six months. I \nted to let you know."
41
42
A a lifeguard you learnand
practice what to do when the
victimgrabsyou in an attempt to
save themselves. The natural
reaction would be tofight f
stuggle on thesurface of the
water.What you are taught and
trained to do is immediately go
underwater, deeply arK quid:ly.
This is thelast place the victim
wantsto be and so they
immiately let go. like my shrth
grade teacher Mr1. Baily said: "It's
easy when you knowhowl"
Dr. Charles Connolly
Pirt 1: Gait/ tIlt Skills ofNall/ral Brilliatu
Deep physical and mental relaxation is no nmade. It is always one
thought away from your present stale. You will learn to produce an
optimumstte of relaxation very quickJy by followlIlgthe Illstmctons of
this chapter.
I n Ius book Al4fogt'"i(1;al"ill, Kal Kermal1l outillles numerous
techniques for getting into the idtal Statt of relaxation. His approach
centers around several simple principh.'s:
\ork with your thoughts. Calm thoughts lead to a calm mind
and body
Deal with emmioIlS. Emotions are thought-energy in motion in
your physical body. Learn t leI emotions, a they wash over you,
give way to calnUles5.
Change your physioIOb'Y' Physiol<>,'Y Itads your elllotional st.1te and
cre:tes the platform for mental and emotional rdax:ltion.
Exercise your major muscle groups. In addItion to releasing pent-up
tension, exercise causes the brain to release ncurochcmicals that
mood altcring in positive ways.
Develop Skills
If you study relaxation techniques, you will notice a pattern
emerging. It does not matter if you are emotionally tense, mcntally
"ired, or physically srs d; the rule i s the same: Physiology FIrst.
When you change your phYSIology, you change everythlllg. As you
learned earlier in this chapter, when you fake a deep breath and sofen
your shoulders and posture, you initiate relaxation. Relaxation IS where
you start any technique ofRlease.
Let me gve you an illustration. If someone held my nose and mouth
so that I could not breathe. afer a minute or two my body would beglll
to tensc up and stg to get oxygen. If I were still conscious after three
Iunutes, I would be fantically failing marlllS and body in an attempt
to get fe.
Breath invisibly links body and brain. When you change your
breathing, you change your mental and physical st.tes. Try it.
Take a deep breath and let it g. Nowrelax so that you inhale and
exhale evenly. Breathe a complete cycle without any pauses
between the inhale and exhale. illlagll1e breathlllg a CIrcle
III which one breath fows evenly mto the next without Jerk
or pause. Take thirty seconds to close your eyes and continue
to breathe III that way: notice the effect circular breathing h01
your body and I1llrld.
YOll probably recognized that when you rda. xed your breathing, you
simultaneously and spontaneously relaxed your body and mind. When
you relaxed the IlIlk betwcen the two, body and nllnd follow Stilt.
The correspondll1g changes 111 your body and mind change your
emotions as wel.
C/lost Exufle"u
If you want to change a stuck state, first change your physiology.
Release, and everythlllg positive will ripple omfrm this shift.
Here is a \y to change state to get
.
resourccs quickly:
Sund, slouch your shouldcrs forward. and loweryour head. Stiffen
your righl knec and shift your weight to your right heel. Let your
arms dangle. This is the physiology of depression. Make your
breathing shallow. Now think a depressing thought, something
such as a major mistake)ou experienced once a long time ago.
Now that you feel depressed, I'll guide you to release in t1urty
Seconds or less. Il eady?
Take a deep breath as you straighten your spine tyour head.
and straIghten your shoulders. Exhale as you cemer your weight
over both fect, shoulder-width apart. Move one foot slightly
ahead of tht othcr, and tilt your weight to the balls of your feel.
Breathe e\'nly with a full, deep abdominal and chest breath.
IS the ph}lilology of exceUcnce. ow remember a major success.
How do you feel? Notice the di(fercncc between deprtssed and
excellent? The physiolOb'Y of cxceUence will successfully change your
emotional state one hundred percent of the time, because phYSIOlogy
leads emotiollS. So, if you find yourself in the doldrums or 1 a stuck
state, know that you can change within thirty seconds. Assume thc
physiolof, 'Y of excellence. Simply standing up and breathing diffcrently
will make an instant difference in your menal attitude
.
Accessing
a powerful physiology and positive mental image will make
you resourceful.
A"drr " It RtlaxaliOIl RUlollU
Each and ("cry time you experience a state of true release, anchor It.
Anchormg is the process of asslgmng a stimulus to a response. The
concept of CondItioned Jsponse tu ng frst introduced by the
43
44
Part 2: Gain 'hI Skilll ofNatural Brillial1u
Russian psychologst, Pavlov, III Ius famous experiments with dogs.
The anchor you set can be physical. auditory_ visual, or any
combination. For example, a physical anchor could be sgueezig your
right hand into a ttand releaslIlg It. If you link thi s squeeze and release
to a relaxing experience, then squeezing and releasing of your
fst anytime in the future will spontaneously trigger a similar state
of relaxation. The more ofen you repeat the anchor, the more porful
it becoIllL".
An auditory anchor could be inter y stating a word or phrase, such
as "exctllerar" or u{alm ald poised, A visual anchor could be seeing an
internal image of a re l igious symbol or picruring yourself succeeding.
Anchoring is an effective and simple technique. Use it you play
with tbe following exercises.
Rlfax ill Nitlety-Suotldl
Remember the story 1 told earlier of my presentation to lot.1riam?
Well, here is how the demonstraton g. You can try it by yourself or
with a friend.
Sit in a chair with your feet flat on the floor and your hands
separated, resting palms up down and open on your thighs. Take a
deep breath, and, as you exhale. dose your and think of the
word Rllax repeating in a space behind your eyts. Think only of
the word 1ax. Within ninety seconds, you will be very relaxed.
An additional step is to imabe that your dOT1l1nant and hand
are a loose and a limply relaxed a a silk coth. Then reach over
with your non-dominant hand and pick up the wrist ofyouT
dominant arm about six inchL' and let it plop down on your thigh.
[his is a bit easier to do for someone else. but it does work when
you do it on yourself.)
After rcb.xingjust long you like, bring your awareness once
again ourward by mentally counting forard from 1 to J, then
opening your eyes. taking a deep bath, and stretching your arms.
It really ua simple as that. Try it!
Relax Deeper
The main technique to achie deep relaxation i s called "prolCssive
relaxation," which involves moving your awareness from muscle group
to muscle grup.
A you focus your attention on any one p.ut of your body. imagille
Reiloll
that those muscles are becoming loose and limply relaxed. Oy the
time you have gone from head to toe or toe to head, you will be
profoundly relaxed.
Expenment with m .
Dit your attenOOIl t the bigtoe of yourrigt fOOL Become
avare of it. Good. Become aware of the heel of your left foot.
Now become aware of your right knee-cap. Good. Can you
become aware of your left elbow? Now, dict your attention to
your nostrils. Become aware of the low of your breath coming
IVoyour nostrils a you inhale and fowlllg out of your nostrils
you exhale.
You directed your attention frm place to place on your body. By
doingso, you shut out any irrelevant stimuli that might have caused your
body and mind to be involved and tellse. Sneaky, eh)
Now that you have the idea. let me give you a detailed script to
follow. Feel fee to record it on a cassette tape for yoursLlf. Or, have
someone read it to you. You mayalso choose to l isten to a professionally
produced relaxation t.1pe, such dmy De RelaxaliOlJ Paraliminal tpe.
The followingprocess ofrelaxation takts ten to ffeen nUIlUtcs. Ifyou
glance over the text now, when )ou have time to piay with the process,
you lIlay choose to go through it thooughly. It is the process of
rla:ation we teach PhomReading students to develop deeply ammed
Statts oflearg with one deep breath. Over the course Lftrifing the
partIcipant lear the patter for releasing, which they can use any time
they wallt to relax.
Take a deep brcath... hold it for a moment ... a you slowly exhale,
close your . Think of the number 3. and me1tally repeat the
word Relax. imagme a wave ofrelaxation fowing downward
throughout your entire body. fom the top of your head down to
the sales of you feet.
A NL of relaxation can begin at the top of your head and begin
to low slowly. downward, across the muscles of your scalp,
fowing down through the forehead. relaxing all the muscles
around the eyes, nostrils. cheeks ... Oowg across the muscles of
your mouth, chin, and jaw. Relaxing down throughthe musclC of
your face, tllis wave can fow down thrugh your throat and neck
and out across your shoulders. Imagine this wave ofrelaxation
flowing over the tops of your shoulders, the frnt andback of your
45
Paraliminal tapes usea unique
blendofneuroHnguistic
programming, accelerative
karing, andpreconscious
processingto teacl!yourinMr
mindt Ispondin ways that
supportyourgoal. Theycontain
nosubliminalmessages.
Callmyoffice atLear;ng
Strategies Corporation f
informatin.
46
Parr Z:Gt;" tilt Skills ofNafllral Brilli,"u
shoulders, and down your sides. TillS wave can fow down your
arms relaxing your upper arms, lower arms, hands, fingers, and
fngertps.
Imabrine m^ of relation fowing right out your fngertips,
carrying any tight, tense feellllg5 out and away. You lIIay even
notice a pleasant tingling or brating sensation on the tips of )Ullr
fngers, athe Illuscks rela deeper.
Tltis pleasant wave of relaation fow &om your shoulders dmn
through the muscles of your chest and upper back. Imagine this
wve spreading gently and evenly throughom the muscles of your
chest and back, relaxing your breathing and all :around your heart.
NQice the even rhythm and beating of your hean as you rca
around your hearL Ityour :undwanders, you can ge:ltly. ever so
gently, bring it back to what you are do1g here. There is plenty ot
time larer for other thoughts. R ght now YOli arc deeply relaxing.
Relaxing thc heart, the muscles of the chest, imagine this wave
fowing down through your abdomen and throughout all the
organs of your body. Imagine the ^C flowing down your back,
down through the middle and lower back. Imagine this wave
flowing slowly dowmvard into your pelvis and hips. Ilelax down
through the muscles of your ieg5, allowing this wave to fow
throughout your thighs. caves, al the way down through your
Icg~, right down to your ankJes and feet. Relax your heels and
toes. the tops and bottoms of your feet. Imagine this wave of
relaxaton flowing right out the bottoms of your feet, carrying any
tensions out, fowing away, meltlllg away. You may notice the
curious sensation on the bottoms of your tccI, as waves of
relaxation carry your body IIUO the level of comfon that is right
for you. You in charge.
Anytime you desire to rc as deep or deepcr than you are now.
you may do so by thinking ofyour phySIcal relaxation signal. the
number 3 and the word Relax. You are in charge.
{Pause}
Take another deep breath . . . hold it a roment . . . slowly exhale.
think of the Ilumber 2 and menta y repeat :hcw:mRdax. Let g
of thought about the past or future, focus your awareness on this
present moment I.me. right here, right now.
Imagme with each exhale that you arc kmng go of any fears,
worries, problems of any kind. Exhale and let them g.
Rdttut
{Pause for a breath}
With each inhale. imagllle inhaling relaxation, tranquillity, and
comfort uoever part of you.
t PJ.use for a breath}
So that w1th each bath you breathe, you let go more and relax
even deeper. Imagme your COllsC\ousnes expanding into this
present moment.
Whenever you deSire to lax as deep or deeper than you are now,
you may do so by thllklllg of the number 2 nd mentally
repeating the word Relax.
Outside sounds that are unimponant to you .. . can belp you to
relax evcn deeper.
{ Pause}
Take another deep breath in . . . hold it for a moment. .. slowly
exhale, mentally hear the soulld of the Ilumber 1 and imagine
lookllg at a beautiful plant or fower.
{ Pause}
This is a signal llldicatll g that you have focused your awaremSS
wi thmq to this accelerated learg state. Here you have access to
e}anded CreatiVity and perceptual ability. You i contact with
the abund.1lt resources ofyour I11ner mind.
If you'd like, imabone )
,
ourselfrelaxg a beautfl qUiet scene,
sitting or lying back a peacen,l scene, relaxing and enjoying m
time of comfort.
{ Pause }
Thl is the ideal ticto give yourself the positive afrmations that
help you achwve the learing you desire. Right now, as you enjoy
this relaxed interal state. give yourself positive and constructive
afrmativc statements that help you develop the Natural Brilliance
step of Release.
For example, say to yursc!. "I can achieve what I sincerely set my
mllld 01. I
,
elie\c !1 myself and willingly accept my filII pmenrial
as a learner.
At your own rate. Imagine givmg yourself pralbme positive
phrases to help you achie NC what you desire. Hear them in your
own lIulld as If you were saymg them to yourself in your own
47
48 Part 2: Gail! tit Skills ojNa/urlll HrillilllU
C voICe.
When you C ready, begin to brmg yourself out to an outer.
consciously state of mind.
Using a standard procedure, you will be bringing yourselfto the
outer conscious level of;l\varcncss by the counting forward from
1 to J.
With each number, imagine yourselfrerurning to outer awareness,
carryingwith you the b' d fechng of relron and alcrtnt-s that
you have developed. And at the last number, you open your cs
fecling refeshed, relaxedand alen-feeling g
Now. at a rate that is comfortable for you, bring yourselfout by
the standard procedure ofcounting forward fmm 1 to J. Take all
the time you des.ire to retur now
Summary
You probably realize that nIcmgis easy [Q do as exhaling deeply.
When you 6'llide your body and l111nd properly, every part of you is
capable of relaxing. Over the next few days take opp0rtullities to
pace your busy m with a few moments of relaxation. You will quickly
train yourself [0 release spontaneously J any situation, because you
knowyou can.
When you face stress-producing situJtions, the knowledge and sktll
you develop with Step l . Release, will benefit you immedlJtely. In
addition. when dealIng with thll1gthat usedto put u into stuck states,
relax yourself and become playful . By using the techlllques of this
chapter, you will develop essentJ31 skills naturally. Each day,
consider using one or more of the suggested ideas listed below until
you have experienced all of them, Put a check mark in the box to
IIldlcate your progress:
cticn Clicck|ist[erRrlcarr
L Physiology FirSt: Ureathe 111 complete, even cycles for thirty
seconds, and notice the effect on your body and mmd.
[ Excellence: Get Ino a balanced, pmvemll ph)'ioIOof excellence,
and bring a positve memory to mind.
[ Relaxatlon Anchor: Experience the state of release, then anchor It
physically, audimrially, andlor visually.
RtltaJt
[ Ninety-Stcond Relaxaton: Sit comforably, release a deep breath,
and focus your mind on the w:mKdrepeating belund youreyes,
Feel your armrelaxedlike a Silk cloth,
[ Deep Relaxation: Follow the script for progressive relaxation from
head [Q toe,
Refer to [he Aldix for addiional tipS,
Notice
Noticing. Step 2 of Natural Brilliance, puts your scmor tems back
online when they hawbeen switched of due [ tensiOIl and oscillation.
When your senses tur on, a wealth of valuable informa1ion becomes
available, givmg you !lew options for success. The experience of
bringing your senses back online can be startling. like stepping out of a
d1rk tunnel with the whole world opening vividly before yOll.
Twentyhours into my mining a private pilot, my instmctor asked
me to fy to the neighborIng Anoka County airport. For weeks [ had
been obsessed with making sure every detail was correct while I was
fying. l would frquently scan my six mmllnts t confirmJ was on
course and at the rgt alttude. I wouldlook lef and right over the n
wingto make sure Iwas fyingstraight. I wouldcheck the horizonwith
a mark on my windshield to make sure I^fying level.
"Straight and level, all instruments check:' I would mentally repeat to
myself. This scannmg rutne dominated my consciousness every time I
took to the air. But on this particular day, somethlllg unusual took place
that changed my experience offying forever.
As we approached the airport. I suddenly realized that I could see
everything around me. All trafic for feen miles wa5 Visible to me. l
knew the exact approach of my airplane in relationOhip to the
configuration of the runways. I could check in with aU six instrumentat
one glance. l did not have to look left and right. The wiJb, were like
extensions ofmy own shoulders, and I knew they were level by simply
looking ahead at my destination.
"Wow!" I sai d to my ill5tructor, seated to my right. "This is amazing!
It's as iu! can see everything mat once."
Me. I-Ilusak smiled back and said, "Congratulations, you have
removedyour ight blinders."
52
Our peru!ptions are the doorway
to change-awareness the keyl
Rex Steven Sikes
Founder of IDEA Seminars
Prt 2: Gaill tllr Skilll o[Naflmd Bri/lianct
Removing flight blinders happens for all pIlots al some point. The
dommatloll of the limned conscious processing of the analytical mmd
suddemy gVcand the whole Tlllld switches on to panoramic vista.
The goal of Notce i s to switch on the panoramic vst in your world.
Let's get those fligt blinders off.
Step Out of Your Tunnel
Whenever we arc trying tOO hard to bve life perectly, we switch off
the \'t resources of the whole Ilnnd. As a result we live our lives with
tunnel vision. We habituate ourselves to vIewing the world through
mnncl vision untl we no longer realize how limited our perceptions are.
My brothl, '( Lee gOI glasses when he was eight years old. Neither he
nor Illy parentS knew how dcspa:llely nearsi ghted he was. The
experience of stepping into the world with clear vision amazed him.
As he describes it, "I had never known that grass is madeup of
individual blades. I thought it was one big green undifferentiated blob.
Same With trees. I didnt realize they had individual leaves until that day
I stepped ouof the optician'S ofce."
\hen our sensory systems are diminished or down, we do not realize
that the world around us carries informaton we need. Tunnel viSIon can
be our obstacle ( development: we do not know the effect of wearing
blinders until they fnally come off.
Notice More to Survive and Thrive
After draining stress out of our systems wuh Step I , Release, we
reStore a natural sensitiVity to our sensory s}'stems. This makes the
remarkable faculties of the br:n flly available and permits us to make
necessary discrimi ntions (Q achieve Ollr goals.
Step 2, Notice. is absolutely critical to our success in the world
literally, to our survival-and also to our ability to thrive in the moder
age. Look at various cultures in the Wor!d tIo| had to survive in harsh
enVionments, and you shall see an iTlleresting patter: survival equals
the abi ity to make wise decisions based on sensory distmctions.
Perhaps you have heard about the Eskimo people's abil ity to
rustlnguish diferent types of snow. You and I might know seven or eight
types, whereas the Inuit, as they prefer to be called, make over ffty
distinctions. It i s logical that your mdepended on di scriminating aile
N/licr
snow condition from another. you would certainly do so carefully+
Imgllle dnvll1g across cQllllery and not being able to tell one road sign
fom another. Dangerous proposition, no?
If you smdy the Nordic people, you will fd a similar patter of
sensory awareuess. They had a fairly small working `ocabulary for
eNerythlllg cOllcernlllg IIlland existence. When it came to words
descnblllg coastal regions-coves, rocks, waves, and other water
conditions-hey med dramatically more terms. Nordic people made
remarkably fne discriminations regarding water. upon which they
depended, and their success grew from these discriminations.
Now turn to you and me. We !t\e 1 the Information Age iil moder
society We mllst extract meaning from dat and the world luud us to
make decisiollS for effective action. \hen we drive cars, information
comes at us qtllckly. Lawyers, computer scientists, medical doctors, and
other professionals need to process enormolls amounts of information to
keep up in their fields. What arc the sensory distinctons we should be
making to survive and thTlve? How can we notice what we should be
paying attentlon to 1 order to !tvc our lives fly today?
Take the First Step toward Balance
By sharpelllng your awareness of the \ N 'dd around YOL and your ov
sensations in responseq )'u vget rid of disorientation and fnd balance.
I mentioned ill Chapter 1 that the step of Notce creates an "outide of
yourself" awarels. I used the analogy of hopping off the teeter-toner
i nstead of trylllg to balance by running ot: the lOp of it fom one end to
the other. Achievmg a perspective outside the oscillating system helps
you to dampen the wild swin{S and bring the teeter-toner into balance.
Flight navigation is based on the same principle of bmnce. Even if
you know where you started and where yOll are headed, you do not
know where you arc on the connectll1g path until you establish a third
reference point. Knowing where you an' with respect to a third point
lets you plot an intersecting hi:c, which gives you your position between
where you arc and where you are gOlilg.
Orienting requires trianb'ulation. Balance requires it. NoticlIlg creates
it. To dinullish either/or, this-nat-that type of thinking that creates
oscillation, get perspective. When you havc another point of view away
from the teeter-totter, you can dlsco . er what you hv been domg and
what other choices might get you where you want to go. NOtlClllg
5J
54
ParI 1: Caiu flt Skills ojNalll,al Brillialc
allows you to get rid ofthe Ilcbrative efects of disorientation to achieve
the balancedsensation of knowing what to do next.
Increase Your Sensory Acuity
You perceive inside and all around you with your five physical senses.
You use the visual and auditory senses, the sense of touch to perceive
energy and motion, plus the senses of smell and taste. The way
to enhance your sensory acuity is to increase your abili ty [0 notice
changes. Your brain registers change, evell minutely subtle changes. A5
you actively notice what your brain perceives, you will increase your
sensory acuity.
Right now, while you arc reading these words, notice what you feel
on the back of your thighs. What is the temperature ofyour scalp? What
is happening to the indexfnger of your right hand? What sounds do you
hear that you have not been noticing untl now?
You actively directedyom attention to your various sensory systems.
Perhaps yOll perceived a number of completely trivial bits of
information. That's good. See how easy it is to notice what you
have not been noticing up untl now.
For every external sensory system, we have a corresponding inter
representation. These representations are the operating system, or
language, of the brain. We can enhance our internal sensory a\ness as
we call our external senses. Our ability to process information, make
effectve decisions. and. ultimately, succeed in society also depends on
making internal sensory distinctons. The rest of this chapter helps you
develop your exteral and internal sensory acuity.
EtJltHlctYOIlr VSl/a/ SII(
Imagine a vi sual input channel that can route information directly
into your inner mind. Once there. your mindcan sort through the dat:
and deliver answers to you consciollsly whenever you want or need
them. Would that be great? Well, guess what? You were born with the
equipment to do just that.
The PhotoReading whole mind system is built on the idea that YOll
have an other-than-conscious mind and a preconsciolls processor. With
PhotoReadingYll can process wntten information at rates exceeding a
pagt a second. This is really not a radical idea. The concept; lISed in the
design of Photo Reading have been around for centuries. One major
Notic
breakthrough in the development of the Photo Reading whole mind
system i s how yOll gze at a page of text. What we developed is a visual
state to ensure that when you look at written information, it goes
directly to the vast memory stores of the inner mind.
Photo Focus. as we call it, enables you to take in the entire page at
once, rather than hard focusing on individual words and word groups.
With Photo Focus yOli bypass the limitations ofthe conscious mind to
gain direct access to the unlimitedprocessing potential of the brain. The
essence of PhotoFocus involves "seeing with soft eyes." This contrasts
with har focus, which i s our normal practice of getting a sharp. clear
image of a single word, phrase, or line of print. \ith PhotoFocus we
open lip our peripheral vision and mentally photograph entire pages.
You will learn more about the PhotoReading whole mind system in
Chapter 10. Right now, you can play with Photo Focus in the exercise
that follmV'i. Aim to experience a visual phenomenon PhotoReaders call
the "cocktail weenie efect."
To see the cocktail weenie efect, look at a spot on the \all opposite
you. Now, while continuing to look at the spot, hold your hands about
eighteen inches in fm of yom. Then bring the tips ofyour mdex
fngers together.
Fyou gaze at the spOtjust above the top of your index fingers. notce
in your vi sual field what is happening to your IIldex fnger. Keep your
eyes relaxed and do not worry about bringing anyhing into sharp foclls.
You will notice a ghost image that 100k like a thir fnger or a little
party sausage.
Seeing the cocktail weenie demonstrates that you are diverging your
eyes instead of converging them on a fd point ofharfocus. When
you diverge your focus, you sofen your visual field, :nd expand your
peripheral a\areness. You can see the effect only when you do not look
directly at your fingers.
You can apply the same effect to the pages ofa book. Fix your _on
a point comfrtably beyond the top of the book or at a spot 011 the V ,
while noticing in your peripheral vision the four edges of the book and
the white space between the paragraphs. Because your eyes are
diverging, YOll will set a double crease between the lef-hand and right
hand pages. llegill to notice a little rounded strip of a phantom page
between te crease lines. That is what we call the "blip page."
You cal learn more about PhotoFocus in my book. Tle PhotoReadilg
Whole MinJy:|rm. For now, consider that Photo Focus gives you a
55
56
I remember Budtminster Fuller
reporting that he saw the world in
soh focus because he did not wear
glasses until he was about foor or
five. He said one of the secrets of
his success was that his vision
wasn't corrected until he had first
built a s focus vision of the world.
Peter Kline, Chairman of the Board
of Integra Learning Systems
Part Z: Gaill til Skills ojNarurll BrilIiallrt
direct visual channel co your inner ml1ld. When you use this gaze to zip
through books, you vrecognize the fabulous aSSJS[ance your inner
mind ofers.
Photo Focus can be thought of as a kind of "second Sight." As a
neurological phenomenon, It can be used 1 other ways to open your
visual sensory systems and increase your ability to notice more useful
informaton in your world.
Nelson Zink, at the Embudo Center in New Mexico, glVls seminars
on "Nightwalking." This process allows you to walk outSide in total
darkness, 011 moonless nights, using a techlllque that is the Photof"Cus
corollary. When Photo Reading, we usc second sight to gather
information frm the pages of text while we g.lze at a distant point.
When Nightwalking, we use second sight to gather information
frm the terrain by holding our brze at a pcim eighteen inchL" in front
of our eyes and by staring at the end of a rod attached to the visor of a
baseball cap.
Does Nightwalking work? It is remarkable! l have led groups on
,,,ooded trails for mil es. They dnot mnnble 011 unevcn ground or lose
the md. One man ducked for no reason that he could consciously fgr
out, but, when he reached overhead, he realized his inner mind had
warned mof a low branch projecting fm a [e at forehead level.
Second sight i s a useful tool in developing Step 2 of Natural Unlliancc.
VieWing the world with sof eyes is a common trallung technique in the
martial art. For example, a master of Alkdo who can defend himself
ag;lIlS[ ten attackers approaching simultaneollsly has developed 360-
degree awareness. I have found Writings that suggest a connection
between this soft gaze and an ancient Tibetan tradition known
as "Splitting the Ethers." Also, Carlos Castenada described a similar open
visual gaze in JcTarlrings oj Donju,m: A Yaqui I oj Knol11edgt and in
his other books about his Southwest Inchan warrlorlteacher
Don Juan.
Those of us who live in a typical modern lifestyle can practice
opening our visual senses ollr everyd,Y situations. YOli can ul$tantly
begin to notce usenll information all around you. I lere's how:
When you are driving in a car, ann lugh. Move your gaze tovrd a
point on the horizon. Si multneously notice IIlfOnnatioll coming fm
your rearview mirror and from your sideview Imrrors. Through your
penpheru vision, notce mfonnation from the sides of the road.
When walking. practice the same gaze. Imagme an arc stretched fm
Noti(
your forehead to the hOrizon. Lct your gaze contain the arc plus the
people and objects Hl1me<1ateiy around you. One womal reponed that,
when walking through the s|system 1 dowlltown MlIlneapolis,
she v s aware that the woman directly behind her vwearing a red
dress. When she tured around to look, he vright. No doubt, her
mind had picked up refected lIuormarion around her.
Us the 511l1e techniques when ,alking through large crowds. luther
than lookmg directly at pcople, go into soft focus [0 determine your
path. The same concept IS used when Photolleading a newspaper or
magazine. Rather than focusmg all ITldlvidual aniclt, pass through such
materials in Photo Focus, letting your inner mind process everything.
Then yOllr mind can show you the ideal path to obtain the information
you nced. taking you to speCifc articlt" and paragphs.
All of these techniquCs will hclp to open. strengthen, and balance
your visual system, all\wing it to serve you flly. You ,viII nonce more
usenll ll1fornlatlon and build a data base that will help you respond man:
etectvely t thc world around you.
EllluwC YOllr :Jiteq5mue
Similar to noticing useful information visually, you zcan impro"e
the quality of your audiory sense. In rruth. we are all hearing only a pan
of the tot auditory spectntm.
I f you had your cars tested, you would see an audiogram of
what frequenCies you can consciously hear. Dr. Alfred Tomans. a
French audIologist, wrote 1 Comoolls EaT, translated in English by
sound t_cnDon Campbell. Dr. Tomatl explains that we tend to hear
only the sounds our native culturc and language habituate us to hear
and respond to.
People from India do not make tlte F sound. To pronounce it is
difcult, lafbVly because thL') do not hear it. In Mandarin Chillese thcre
are four mtonations used in pronoullcing words. Oepending 011 the 'vay
it usaid, the sound A has four completely different meaning.
Learning another language otTers a perfect opportunity to broaden
your audiogram. My colleague Petcr Kine used a great technique to
help a woman from the South 5y the word oil. The only way she could
pronOllTlCe it vEarl. Here is what ht did.
Peter playcd a recorded selection of cbssicaJ music, which ofers the
brn a wide audio spectrum, and turned on a tape recorder. Then he
told Susan to repeal after 111m:
57
Soft focus is an impottant skill that
can affect us metaphorically. In
other words, the way we see the
future has eY1rything to do wit
how well we can look up and see
the expanded horizon before us.
You get a strong future yision when
you stop looking at the ground
when you walk and start looking at
the far horizon.
Peter Kline, Chairman of the Board
of Integra learning Systems
58
Peter: Oil
Susan: Earl
Peter: Oil
Susan: Earl
Susan: ETil
I'ctcr. Oil
Susan: Eryn
Peter: Oil
Suan: Oy-ill
Peter: Oil
Susan: Oil
J. 2: Gain t" Ski s oj NatlmJ B,ilfilmu
Throughout me experimcm, Susan {ould lIot consciollsly Pfr(jl any
difference in the way she pronounced the word oil. After the
experiment, Peter played thc tape back. To her amazement, she heard
her;clf s ay the word correctly. Only then did Susan realize it W. wltlil
her capacity to extend her allral range.
Although Susan rCVl'rtcd to saying Ear when Peter rurned ot the
classical music, with further play, she began tohear and speak differently.
The unconscious acqUisition of language demonstrated when an
expatnate lives in the Unllcd States for a hyears. An Englishman I
know speaks, to my ear, with a clearly discernible British accen.
However. when he returns home, hIS family chides him for hiS
"dreadful" American accent. I only detect it in his pronunciatlon of
certalll words; his high toned kalw has flattened out to a plain
Midwestern Catl.
A powerful story of the nonconscious acquisition of informati
.
oll
came from a BaSIOn Photo Reader who worked for Volvo. To practlce
Photol,eadlllg and prepare for a business trip to Sweden, Tom
PhotoRad the Swedish-English dictionary several dozen times. Only
Photol eading It for a few nunutes each time, he never spoke a of
the ianb'llage.
When he arrived, his host took hlln to dinner at a local restaurant.
After he ordered. his host $id, "I didn't know you spoke Swedish:'
NOfiu
"I don't," replied Tom, perplexed at the man' sttement.
"Come on, you're joking. You JUSt ordered your meal In fawless
Swedishr'
" No," Tom shook his head.
"But you did," rhe man laughed. To prove it, he called rhe \vaitress
back to the table. "Did Illy friend just order his meal in S\'edish?" he
asked the \laltress.
"Yes." she replied. "Beautiful Swedish:' she added.
Tom's stullned response w, "What did I order?"
When she told him, Tom quipptd, "Well, that's exactly what
I wanted!"
While Tom was in Sweden, hiS brain heard the audiogram
characteristic of that culture. In effect, the restaurant served as an
allditory smorgasbord. Spontaneously and unconsciomly his brain had
activated the language. From that poiIlt on, Tom was able to make selse
of what was being said when people spoke Swedish around him at
business ll1eetllb'' He did nm speak the Ianb'lJb' again on his trip. but
he understo-t 1 intuitve level.
Besides listening to clasSical musIc and PhotoReading in foreign
lallb'll:lges before travel, you can enhance your auditory perceptlOu ill
other wy. I qencourage you to open your ear to your inner \vorld.
Quieting the conscious mind and gently rfocusing attention increases
control of your inner mind:
Fim, quctthe world around you. Practice driVing without tUflllllg
on the radiO or sound system, or sit cOlltemplHi\'tly in a quiet
surrounding. Listen [0 your own !lund. Ask yourself a question and
notice what happens. With purposefl listening, fnd the "still, sillall
VOice wnh1," the voice of your higher intelligence. The anCient
concept, A,k mId II sllQl/ bgill 1110 yu, connect you to the source of
infnite intelligence.
Second, quiet the mind chatter. Occasionally, after a busy, anxious
day, we hear mindless tape loops playing, You have probably repeated a
tune or run a movie scene in your head over and over. You can interrupt
the tape loop by inserting a replacement. For example, I substitute a
chant I leared III meditation c. Or. I sing a favonte hymn sever,l
tlnes. Sometlnes I choose to remember a pleasant memory or
antiCipate a positive fmure event. Any of those chosen thoughts
supplants mindless loops Jnd gIVes me authority over my thlnkmg
process once again.
59
Questions focus our thinking, Ask
empowering questions like: What's
good about this? What's not
perfect about this yet? What am I
going to do !x tiMM? How can I
do this and have fun doing it?
Dr. Charles Connolly
6 Parr 2: GliP (/I SkilojNatural Brilliarlu
E I/I,Hla:YOIlr Frrlit&,ISI
Have you ever said "I feel down" or "I fcel up today"? These state
ments refer to the movement of energy in your body. \hen you feel
sruck. your body is alerting you that it has responded to your stress by
allocating eler for fght or fught. During this alert, you cannot gam
accl. "S to your other lOner resources.
Try the following experiment.
Stand up for a momem. Slump your shoulders forward, get a
fown on your face. and hang your head. Tilt your pelvis so that
your stOmach goes III and your knees go out. Now think to
yourselfi" a depressed-sounding inner voice, '"Gosh, I feel
wonderThi s the best dayof n lifer'
Howdid that feel? Ridiculous. right? Now try this:
Straighten yOllr back and leg. Stand straight with yur shoulders
back and rcbed, your head tilted so that your face looks slightly
up. Let a subtle smile form at the the corners of your mouth and
your . Fl exyour knees slightlyso that youfedspringy In your
legs. Now think t yourselfin an upbeat, excited voice, "I feel
totally awfid; this is the worst day ofmy life!"
How did that feel? Isn't it strange to have your body and mller voice
workmg In opposition to your afrmaton? experiment shows how
profoundly your phYSlolob'Y and self-talk mfluence your feelings. The
way you operate u:the \ rld depends on howyou fed. If you want to
notice whal is happening in your world, assume the physiology that
makes you mOSt receptive to informaton around and in you.
Barbara Brenan, author of Hands ofLlgil, describes a process of
developing "Hig Sen Perception," with which a person can perceive
the energy felds around and inside hVlllg orgal1lSllu. Accordmg to
Drenan, noticing sublle energies allows for self-healing, self
tranformation, and heahng others.
You can feel your own subtle energies with a little patience and
pertence. Notice them as you quiet your body and mind. I use the
exercise discipline knon a hatha-yD.
Some people mimagine a yogi to be a ninety-poundturbaned East
Indian swami. rurmng himself into a pretzel. Though I don't look like
that. I continue to practice yoga as a path to spinal strength, physical
flexibility. and mental control. 5mce teaching hatha-yoga college, I
Notiu
have practiced it off and on thrughom my adult h(e.
The goal ofmany Easter traditions IS to strengthen the nervous
systelll. They beglll with the concept that all energy originates in the
"Chi" center--cqulValent to the solar plexus-and all movcmenr arises
fm the spine. Hatha builds strength, balance, and awareness in both the
solar plexus and the spmc. By practicing a fewSimple exercises and
pOStures each day. I enjoy lIlcreased ene!) and ease. Before teaching a
cOllrse or giving a speech, I make a point to spend a fewJllinutes doing
my favorite Hatha routine.
You can count on the fact that as you b'in strength. balance. and
awareness i n your phYSical body, you will simultaneously increase the
lll(orratlOn your physical senses offer you. The goal of Step 2, mice, is
to increaseyour sensoracuity.
I have studied another system, called Edll-K or Edllcat;o/lIl Ki"ls;ofogy,
which provides incredible beneft t any learer. Developed by Dr. Paul
DemllSon and his wife Gail, Edu-K ofers easy exercises (or balancing the
body and mind for effectIVe leang.
Think ofphysical balance J three dimensions. You can balance
vertically-up and down; laterally-left and right; as well as
horizontally-forward and back. The techniques of Edu-K :re
described in a brief easy-to-followway in the Dennison's book Bra;1
Gym: SimpleAailliliesjor 11 ft Bra;" uami"s. You can do one exercise
fight nowif you \\luld like.
Stand up. March III place, nising your knees alternately to waist
level. Touch your knees with opposite hands; left hand to right
knee, right hand to left knee. The Dennisons call this the cross
crawl paner: they m;lntalll it strenb'thens lateral balance. You Illay
also fnd i t energizes }lu. I recommend the cnSS-crwl whenever
you have been sittlllg for more than twenty minutes. Dr.
DemllSon's contflbutions break through traditional views of
learning by demonstratmg the hwu:n nervous system does not
learn efectively when it is out-of-balance. When we get too far
out-of-balance, we " switch off."
Other Simple ways to "switch on" and enhance your Natural
Brilliance are found III Christine Ward and Jan Daley's excellent book
Leart/ilS /0 Letl"': Slrte;esfor A((eleTilti n_ Learning tnd Boou il
PerimlJ(l/Ict. These New Zealand teachers suggest;
Drink \\ter
61
62
ParI 1: Gain tht Skills of Natural B,iIIiQ/I(t
Fill your lungs with fn.-sh air
Do basic br gym exercises
Do aerobic exercises
Do rdation or meditation exrcises
In addition the amhors recommend proper sleep and diet. plcasmg
colors. natllral lighting. good odol. slow music, and natural fibers In
clothing and fimushings.
Which ones particularly appeal to you? Use those to enhance your
personal and professional development.
I,,(r 'lir I'lfuilill Caparilits
Arc you psychic? You slIspcncd I was going to ask that. didn't you?
Over the years of teaching hundreds of people how to usc their
intuition. 1 have concluded that we are all bor with remarkable
percepma! abilities. These abilities, if developed into skills, would be
called " psychic" by anyone who did not knO\ better.
Incrl'asmg your awareness of internal sensory represemations can
actu.lly develop your intuition and ESP. because your i nteral pictUres,
sounds, and feelinb> have Llllportant connections to COnsCIOUS and
nonconscious sensory perceptions. Intuition i commonly thought of as
knowledge without prior sensory perception. My redefnition of
II1nutioll is knowledge without prior conscious scnsory perception. We
can rely on our other-than-conscious processes to deliver us the
eqUivalcm of "psychically inmitive" abilitlL'. And, w can han it juSt for
the .skmg.
DUTIng a recent PhotoReading class Mexico, an engineer asked me
how he could develop his IIltuition. Guilliermo feared that, as an
analytical tlunker, he was without intuiton of ally kd I told him, "We
can play a little gme. I Will say the name John three times, each tlille
thmktng of a diferent person. I v mix the order, but I Will tell you
now that one vmbe my son, one a fiend, and one njfather-Ill-law."
GULlhermo was correct in ever guess. He said he could sense my
father-in-law in a diferent way, so I asked him to describl John
Blackford to me. He described my father-in-law wnh uncanny accur.CY.
He Intuited that John had been in the Navy and the Illlllistry. He
concluded With the fact that John's hair was black, although mostly boone
on tOp. All mle.
"I had no idea I could do this." he id with a nuxture of astonishment
and glee.
Natier
If you never eXperllllent, how can you discovtT your abilities?
Everyone has a capacity of genius; It is up to <ach of us to lei his or hcr
gcmuscome alive.
I encourage you to play with your intuition. Think of anythmg you
chooc, and .sk yourself questions about It. Asking questlon develops
your IIlterna seniOry awareness. Th of a nme when you had a strong
IIHlllion that nlTlled out to be cornct. Even the beSt psychics have a hit
rario of only Cighty percent. So consider anything over IU\ percent
better than chance and excellent.
Consider how that inmition came to you. Did a picture, a VOice, or a
feeling part of your UltULtion reach your conious nund? Ask yourself to
remember the signal that occurred just before you became aware of the
sensory percepton. It a feeling, a voice, or a picnm? The seat of your
ultlution IS the aW:IT"IlL'S lila[ lies at the periphery of your consciousmss.
For mally people in the American cuitUrt. the kinesthetic, or felt
sense, is the place where our Intuition r'ides; at the me time we are
most out of touch with our feelings. We tend to describe our 'out of
conscIous" sense '"mysterious." For Americans, the VlSual and auditory
semes are the most frequently used and the least mysterious. To get
in touch with your own mysterious source of information, your
IIltUltion, explore.
Explore every tiling mentioned so far in your intuition, your least
fowored senses, the penphery of your awareness. the limits of your
sensory awareness. and the distinctions you can make around and
wLtlun YOll at any moment in tme. Be curious about and receptve to
what you discover.
Summary
Step 2, Notice, c.n feel a lot like plaYing. Take a cunous, open
Illlllded approach when you feel stuck. A playful approach swuches on
the whole mind. l defne genius as the produCt of a mind fully in lise.
Explore the sugestions in [his ch:pter to notce how easlly you can get
past being stuck to switch on your genius.
Step I and Step 2 together-Rlease and Notice--create a state of
relaxed .wareness. When you have achieved mstate, you are prepared
for the actlvanon of Step 3, Respond. VOli can realize the full power of
your potential when you move in the direction of your desires. Whether
you take a step of action or not, whether you fail or succeed. your
63
The ancient Hawaiians called
the solar plexus the seat of
intuition, or the second brain.
The Na'au (solar plexus), theysaid,
is where all real knowing comes
from.This equates with our
translation of sensing something,
or having a gut feeling about
something.
D.Trinidad Hunt
64
l'rt 1: Cdir, tl,e SkillJ ofNOll/rl nrillillct
personal power and genius stune a you respond.
Consider using one or more of the sugestons fom the chapter each
day until you have experienced all ofthcll1. Put a check mark In the box
to IIldlate your prgR.
Omt Cll/cklistJor Pclcr
[ Noticing Break: Notice what you 3rc not noticlI1g. Check Ln at
various inttrvals durUlg the dJY. Notice whdt you are not paying
attention to
.
What kinesthetic, auditory, and visual mformation
Inpll1ged on your senses that caused you [0 switch of
L Sof Gaze: Usc the concept of Photo Focus to softly gaze at the
world around you. Expand your peripheral viSIon to take i n
everything around you at once without focusing on any olle dling.
[ Listen Within: Choose quiet surro\lndin' S. Quiet t.he buzzing mind
chalter that may dominate your thinking. Listen to your own still,
small voice.
Stretch: 00 some simple yOb' postures or Tai Chi movements to
cnhance your energy fo and balnce.
| Edu-K Cross Crawl: Do the $ crawl pattern for a mllllltc afer
SHtlllg for more than [wemy mmutes. Also switch on by drinking
water and breathing fsh alf.
[ Develop Intuition: Ask yourself a question t notice the visual,
auditory, and kinesthetic information that comes to you. Make
guesses based on your interal sensory perceptions and check them
omwith others.
Respond
Step 3: Respond LIlvolves taking action in order t aSSl'SS the value of
what changes. Everything we do and do not do infuences the results we
get in life. Although we want to make thIngs turn out well ,
paradOXIcally, sometimes our actions make thingworse.
This chapter exanunes making deCIsions and taking actons that lead
to quantum leaps in performance. Recognizing how we create
oscillation and what we can do to minimIze or dampen oscliLulou IS
only part of the story. The step of Respond in the Na[Ural BrillIance
modd is the point of deparue fmstuck state to genius.
Marcus Wnne is a former government agent, a special weapons and
tactics (S. WA.T.) expert, highly {mined in coumer terrorist techmques.
lie enrolled in one of my comsts on hypnosis to enhance his skills and
understanding ofhuman behavior.
He questioned what I told everyone in the course wuhm thirty
Illlllutes of gathering. "You are all going to do a complete session of
hypnomwHh a partner."
"This can't be," he thought. "Nobody III here knows anythlllg about
hypnOSIS. What about aU the safety issues?"
Marcus appreciated the success everyone experienced during that
opening exercise. Throughout the weekend the high level of skill he
obtained Wa beyond hi s expectations. Rather [han delivering a heady
lecture on hypnosis, I aimed to f
.
,cilit,lte the participants in one weekend
ofpractlOoner rraming to do remarkably skilled change work. ^x a fnal
exam, they performed medical hypnOSIs under the watchful eye of a
physiCian, Each of them guided their subjects to control pall} and
bleedlllg. Durlllg the test, the hypnotist slipped the phYSician's
hypodermic needle through the skill of the subJect's hand without
discomfort to the subject.
66
This dass is not about shooting
but you'U learn about hand-to-hand
(ombat. This class is about r
dis(olering a certain state within
yourself a state that is your
birthright: the state of feeling safe
and strong in your person and
being able to choose to extend that
strength to protect yourself andlor
those in your charge ...
from the induction for the rape
survllor seminar
Marcus Wynne, Training designer
and consultant specializing in
critical skill retention under stress
PurtZ:Gain tht Skills oj Natll,al l,iIli/Jllu
After gradu:Hing from the course. Marcm began 100lon8 at the
tralTllTlg methods III IS own field. He quickly understood the
defciencIes of most tradItional training methods. In Marcus's words:
"What I realized is that one of the big differences between Paul
Scheele's training programs and most other programs is that Paul assumes
people are bright enough {Q do a good job. Rather than spending time
teaching ullnecessary rules and installing the fear of failure. he tarts wih
the most difcult tsk frst, and they Just do it.
hdidn't surprise me one bit to see that typical handgun tUlling and
civilian combat scenano training for law enforcement officers do
everytlung wrong. The trainers spend an mcredible amount of time
tellmg people what 11/ to do."
Marcus desiged a different course. The fnal exam came only four
hours after the course started. A young woman who had never held a
handgun w put to the tcst next to a fve-year veteran law enforcement
agent who had not tken Marcus's course. In four years of pnor military
service_ m had received hundreds of thousands of dollar< worth of
combat trg . including S.W.A.T. courses. The only tie the woman
had ever .en a gun * once, three years carlier.
In the test an `a uan ;t[cked each of the parcipant U1dlv1duaUy.
Their job was to defend thcmselvi.'S by drawing their weapons. a .38-
cabber revolver, and fring blanks (with cotton wading) at the chest of
tbe attacker.
The man drew his weapon and fred six times-in rapid Sl1ccession
all around tbe art.cker. Never once did he score a stopping shot. The
woman confdently pumped all SIX rounds in a tight cluster ]]lto the
attacker's chest.
Marcus Wynne contmued to refne hIS training techniqu i. . . Now Ius
work receives lIlternational acclallll for Its efectiveness in achlcvmg
cntical skills retention under lfe-threatening stress.
Head in the Right Direction: It's Not What You Don't Want
Wat IS the Namral Brilliance diference that made the big differnce?
What i n Marcus Wynne's approach leads to quantum leaps 1
performance? When you understand this next point. you WIll ha\" the
i.Sllce of Namral Brilliance.
Let's go back to the namre of stuck statcs. \hen people are stuck.
they are expendlllg most of their energy oscillatng bet\'een opposing
Repnn4
actions, both of which contalll negative consequences. They ask
themsc!vi., "What are athe dung I don't vn:
When asked a powerful question, the ll11nd tends to go on a search to
answer ]t. It IIHIIIedlately genertes an enormous ltst of prevIOus learmng
experiences. Marcus reahzed that those previous experiences were
s.lying "Here i s what you don't want." For example: Iii'! harm al/yolle
ullilllellliol/ally. /)0/1'1 Jlifll II,e yu ill the tHi( direc/ioll. & etremely cartll
to fSllre t'lles sq{ety ^ncrr a loaded halldgllll unIesthe sqely is 01.
Pnfirr YOIf' l'apol fmlls YO" art absollllely surr thaI YOIl L hwlVith til
{OlleqlllIIcts of YOllr action. \irh all those contradictory messages, no
wonder OSCllation occurred every time a law enforcement ofcer had to
fre a gun 1 the hne of duty
Our life experience reaches us that when \ve do something and don't
get what vm. we should stop and do the opposite. But, doing the
opposite can be a prescription for oscillation. What we need is the
question, " What do I want?" The young woman in the handgun
trainlllg clearly wanted to defend herself. The law enforcement agelH
next to her w flled with don' ,har kept muunconsciously OSCillating
bcm'en domg the task and tlot doing the task mrorrtctly.
What is it you w:mt? It may seelll ndlculous. bue that crucial question
I> rarely asked in traditional psychotherapy. Even more dramatic is how
few therapy clients can answer Ihe question. The reason? They are
completely oriented to their problems, nOt to their outcomes. They
suffer from thcir problems. they discuss their problems, they get insight
about their problems, but they spend little tillle clearly articulating
what they wam instead of their problems. Until we decide on our
outcomes and respond to aclucve them, we cannOt fully discover
Our Natural Brilliance.
Natural Bnlli:ll ce does something qUIte Slmple. It trams your bralll to
ask a very different question-the outcome question-"What do I
want?" When yur mind goes on an immediate search for [he answer to
this question, it creates possibilities. choices. options. The clearer you arc
about what you \m, the more easily your mind can achieve it.
The third step } the Natural Brilhance modd-Respond-pops us
Out of stuck states by eliclIlllg a powerful allswer to "What do I
want?" Step 3 naturally overcomes the lllnitations of previous
lIleffecti"e trauting.
You may have heard the statement. "If you always do what you've
ahvays done. you'll al\wys get what you've always gotten." The mcw_n
67
You may have heard a je about
the defnition of inunit Insanit
is doing the same things and
expting diferent result.
68
Imagine that you have access to a
computer the size of the Empire
State Building-the largest
computer in the world. If you type
in any question on the keyboard,
you will get one or more answers.
The more specific your questwn,
thE faster thE reply.
Each of us has access to that
magnificent computer. It is the
human brain. My personal
strategy for accessing this marel is
to write down eih question in a
notebook leaving space for thE
answers which will appear on the
monitor of my mind. My mega
computer may respond instantly or
it may take hours, days, Of months.
The computer will oot discontinue a
SEarch fOf answers in in data b
unless I abort with t inion. "I
giV up! Of -I guess tere is not an
answer to tis question: T
computer will b o and searcing
24 hours a day no matter n long it
tak until I switch t macine off
James J. Asher, author T Supr
School of t 21s Ctur (How t
get t eduation you want for your
childrn f p through
high sc )
A t stor goes: After Thomas
Edison te anothH filament
without sucess in his prototype
lghtbulb, he said, -Now I know
t thousand and OM way not to
make a IIghtbulb. .
Part 2: GI.i" tilt SklllJ Of Nat. Hal Brilliallct
IS, If you want to get somethmg new, you must do somedung different.
Responding means decisively taking appropriate action tht direction
of your desired goal.
Find Balance in Oscillation: Juggle
Learmng to jugle nuIn movement, balance. and a wll gness to
fall. My belief uthat anything worth domg I worth dOlllg badly at firt.
Juggling teaches you that perfect'ionislll does not work. No one juggles
well at the begin rung.
\hen you jugge, you must perform only two aCtlOlls. You must tOSS
the ball in an an: frm one hand to the other. and YOll must catch the ball
you throw. Juggling becomes dificult because you IlIUSt perform thl'Sc
actions simultaneously-with at least three balls.
For most people. juggling is a confusing blur of oscillating movement.
Anyone who casually attcmpt juggling usually ends up declaring "I can't
do this!" Most people confronting their stuck S'.ltCS sy the s.ame thing.
They perceive a confusing blur of competing responses. which leave
them convinced there is 10 hope.
Lessomfrom the Art ofJlIGUlIg by MIchael ), Gclb and Tony Buzan
explains the connection benveen juggling and expenential learmng. I
had decided after years of repeated attempts that I was "Juggltng
dIsabled." One evening I attendt a rousing performance by the Flying
KarI OZQ Brothers. Aerward, q offered to cooch members of [he
audIence m their a. TheIr SImple teaching method encouraged mastery
of throwmg and catching one ball at a time. When I could do one ball
well, they graduated me to twO balls. When I could do tWO balls, I
graduated to three. E\'ery time I dropped ball, I picked it up without
self-depreciation and took it from where I left off. I learned how to
Juggle in less than ten minutes.
Responding, like juggling, requires fnding a place of balance inside an
oscillation. For many of 1 balancing i easier said than done. Most
adults try to learn something with ineffective strategies they used in
school, such as "get it the first time with one-hundred-percent
accuracy,
Would you believe this about adult learners: Although it takes
performing up to ff trials before adults can accllrately Judge that thl)'
cannot develop a partcular ability, most people usually quit within the
frst ten tmes of domg somethmg unsuccessfully?
ReJpotd
Imagl1le If 11fants had the same lcarnlllg style as adults while
attempting to lear how to walk. Aer landing face frst i n the dnthe
tenth time, they would roll over and say, ;;Sorry, Mom. I can't walk.
Looks like I'm gomg to be a crawler for the nt of my m.JUSt occJuse
you're a gemus at wallng. doesn't mean I can be. vtmed and failed. I
JUSt can't get it to happen."
Respond i s charactenzed by persistence. YOll must hold the belief yu
M dcII to such an extent that G\'l11g up IS not e\en an option. Your \ill
to succeed will fnd the \V3y to succeed.
Confront Your Fears-The Power Appears
Motivation expert Denms Waluey suggests two typlCl1 approaches to
life. One is , (111 ochic|,:the other Slrrss refevill.i. If strong fear and weak
motivatioll come together, stress relieving is our likely path. It makes
sense considenng that when we hit an internal stop sign, we tend t do
a quick V-turn for fear we might get whacked.
How call people reasonably confront their fears when every interal
urge screams Flee! Fortunately. you come fully equipped with a vast
source of personal strength. Strength to respond results from setting
clear outCOIlltS with clear motl\'es or purpose and connecting to mteral
resources. Here is how:
I) Using the atural Bnlhance model. approach goal achie\lng \vith
relaxed alertness. feehng lIlterally balanced and clear about the many
choices and OptiOIlS available to you. When you take action. you qUickly
recogmze if your response moves you away fom what you deSire. 13y
pcrfonrung mal and tlotlcmg the feedback, you can get a clear sense of
what it takes for you to succeed. I|o|ond]~doackenhances your
deCISIon-making. and illcn:ases your motivation as well. Fear cannot
restral11 a powtrful lntennon.
2) Being phically and emotionally prestnt in the f
.
1ce of fear allows
you to remain resourceful
.
As a result of Step I-Release-you arc
physically and emotionally relaxed and precnt. As a result of Step 2-
Notice--you are mentally alert and connected to your Cutn-lU sensory
perceptions. both 11lternal and exteral. Relaxed alertness creates a
connection to the wisdom of your other-than-conscious 1ll1lld. When
you conSCiously respond to events i n your life from a place of
nun: enllness. you will effectively achieve outcome.
Our other-than-conscious 111111d contrls our habitual behaviors.
69
1 grew up being told that If a thing
is worth doing. it's worth doing
well. Now I know that doing
something well is easy if you know
how. tt's learning to do it well that's
so hard. I recognize that if a ting is
worth doing it's worth doing badly.
That's the only way you'll ever be
able to learn it. t'm an expert at
doing things badly so I'll be able
eventually to do them well.
Peter Kline, Chairman of the Board
Integra learning Systems
"So what's the challenge in the
first simulation1" asked Elan.
"Resigltion and hopelessness,
answered the elder. 'Many pEOple
set out with a goal in life. But when
It becomes hazy or adversity sets
In, they often succumb. These
people let circumstances dictate
their lives, never realizing that they
have the power to change things:
Elan knew he couldn't hesitate. "I'd
like to do it, he said. -I'd like to
realize my power to confront and
change things.-
O. Trinidad Hunt
70
Mytn1,Ben, j or
communiiT-ba/league whM he
wasa Vlittkguy. 1 wasfustated
watching8en's attention wander,
andJ toldthe baseball coach, Coach,
8enisiust outon thesecondbase
line buildingsandcastles.
T coachsmiledat 8en andsaid,
-oshouldbe eatatkhe'son t
fi. All t rs ofi wll~
Behappyhe'willingt beo
theratal.
I lookedanewatthis littlef yr
oldwith dirtykhaki shortsso bagg
theysaggedtohisknees. He WIe
hisr baseball capcinchedTO the
last notch in hopes itwouldstayon
his head. Mytension abouthis
missinga play, lettinga rn
rmfingt infieldpickupwas
gnawingatM) notathim. Hefound
thebaseball diamonda friendl
place. I got a chancet witnessa
newparadigmunfoldf myson.
AndI took thechanceto lethimstart
somethingoutright.
Fouryeartlaterin theninth inningof
thelastgameoft season, Ben
belteda grandslamh run t
dinct vO f his team. He
din'tgo on toplaybaseball byond
ffthgrade, but wthsoccer, krt
whatevercamen-tmetphor
repeatediIf. 1 keptcelebratingt
coach forhis wisdomandBen f
hiswillingnessto engage. They
showedme thatshowingupallows
genius towin.
When we rpond with fear, the other-than-conscIous is Simply doing
Its best to protect U.
You can eaSily trainyour other-than-conscious mind [Q move you past
fcars. In fact an instant igl1ltlOn switch in your other-than-consclous
turs on the total power ofbody-mllld. 'JUSt Do It!" is the theme afthe
sllccessful Nike campaign. It emphasizes that ninety-nine perent of the
work to overcome your fears happens when yOll show up and go for
your dreams.
Writer-philosopher Ralph Wldo Emerson put it this way: "He who
does nor the thing has not the power. He who does the thlllS has the
power:' When we resI>Olld with purpa.e to attin our goals, the other
than-conscious mind delLvers the req\ired strength. Simply engage
yourselfenough to respond, and all cIc follows. Your mind and body
can generate enough power to overcome your fea.
Fire Up the Heat of Passionate Desire
You must be willing t fail in ardtr to win. Hyou cannot stand the
prospect oflosing, you forfeit the gme. Harry S. Truman declared: " If
you can't stand the heat, get Out of the kitchen!" Elimlnarillg the fear of
failure IS the S e as elmunating any other tc. To respond and achieve
your desires, you mUSt show up to play in the game, not run away or
hide. Not only must you stand ft'Solute in the heat ofthe kItchen, you
must fre up all even greater heat ofpassionate desire for thelife you \vant
to create.
Mot people are blinded by their goals. Dy their own IIlteral
measures, theyju<'C themselves a success or a failure. Out fatlure cannot
happen to you: you do It t yourself When you miss the mark, you can
choose to call what you gotfwlbok. You fail only when you give up
believing in yourself. There is no othcr filure in the world.
Dr. Paul Watzlawick and the Palo Aho Orief Therapy Clinic in
CaiLforia developed a breakthrough strategy for life-long learning that
makes subsequent b'Oal achievement surprisinglysimple.
Alhougll your actions may not always accomplish your goals, they
always produce an outcome. Ifyou know how to accept what your
actiomproduce, you can uc every outcome you produce t guide you
toward your goal. " Whatever course ofaction you take," says Dr.
Watzlawlck, "I am gomg to ask that you report any small concrete
IIldlcator of success, any movememIn the direction of your goa
Re:ot4
When you witess the effects of your actions, you open yourselfto
perceiving prstoward and away from our goals. Consequently the
Oltly feedback is "I have not arrived yet."
The bnefthcrapy breakthrough changes our orientation. A we
respond and witness the effects, we recognize movement. We
experience success hI the dimfiml of our goals withom having to achieve
the goal just yet. When ^take the pressure off ourselves, maintain
our balance, enjoy [he journey, and keep learg mthe time.
Earl ightll1gale, the self-ill1provemcnt herald frolll the 1 9505
through the 80s. made famous the line, "Success is the progreSSIve
realization of a worthy ideal." That quote sums up the purpose of the
StCp of l'tespond.
Respond with Natural Brilliance
Let's SlLllunarize Step 3 ofthe Natural Orilliance model.
By responding we seek a baance point \ithll1 an oscillatingsystem.
Rsponding, efectively requires an olLtcome orientation and
deciSIOns that are bad 01 knowlllg the desid results you want to
produce.
Rcsourcenllness happens when you are rclaxed and alert. Red
means physically and emotionally prt$Cnt; alert means your sensory
systems online.
You realize most of your personal power when you show up,
engge, and do what you deSire toaccomplish.
The best learning occurs when YOll make concrete, incremental
changes Mthe di rection of your gool.
If you value and integrate the feedback from your actions, all
Olltcomes you produce can lead to learnmg.
PersIStence is crucial. DisCiplll1e and hard work are rarely as
important as persistent actions based on informed choice and
learing about what works.
We can accomplish a big shift III results from a small shift III
onentation. In a relatively new feld ofmathematcs dubbcd}zy loic,
big results are beingachieved by lookingat systems in terms ofsuccessive
apprximations ofcorrectness. Fuzzylogic described in thebook, Puzzy
'i"kilg: 1:r .`mSno FriZZY Loic by Bart Kosko and Tony Buzan,
depart fomtypical rue/fal, either/or, black/white kd of thinking.
That type of thmking and language creates oscillation. Rather, It uses
71
Failure leads to Success is one of
our eight Keys of Excellence to
successful living. It could even be
restated as learf evt
experience. 'hen we learn from
everysituation, whatever the
outcome, we continue to grow. The
artistHenry Matissewrote:-There
areflowers everywhere for those
who want to >them. What we
have found is that learning is
everywhere-and success is for
those who see the learning and put
it to use.Take an outcome that may
be perceived as a failure, and
convert it to simply information. In
analyzinginformation, you will see
places to learn and growmore
dearly.You will seewheresuccess
lies the nexttime around. However,
failure is not the only outcome that
givesus information. Successes,
too, aUowus to find what we are
doing well and continue doing it
for continued success.
Bobbi DePorter, President
learning ForumSuperCamp
Quantumlearning Success
Products
72 IrtZ:Guinthr Skil/I oJNltHral n,illianu
both/and. inclusiye, mtegrativc, gray-tone Language charactcritlc of
Natural Brilliance.
I n the short time it has been used, fuzzy logiC has spawned a
multibillion-dollar industry usll1g computers to control machines. Ior
example. c1ev:tors and Qcomhtioners no longer " on" or "ofT," but
" kind of on" or "sort of ofT." ow, w can make machlJlcs cOlUmually
respond to feedback, which creates successive approxlIn.1nons leading to
a goal.
Imagine, a machine With the beneft ofa " continuous improvement"
approach to problem-solving. It get smarter with every action It takes.
Well, gc what? You are mfnneiy more capable of learning than any
machine can ever produce. F a maner of fact. the mathcmaticJlS
who developed fuzzy logic and inventors who desiblcd those machUl{s
used human capabilities as their model. Your body and brain slicceed Oil
the same principles as fzzy logi c and coni nuous nnprovcmellt.
Summary
I encourage you to always cdebrate every inch of your pmgress, as
well as your accomp l ishmentS. You can achieve whatever you Slt your
mind all. You can gain acct'Sto energy reserves you might never befon'
have thought possible. Takmg time to acknowledge and remforce your
experiences of success is Step 4 of the Natural l3nlliance modd:
Witness.
Consider using one or more ofthe SliggestiOIS from this chapter each
dayumil you hawexperienced aof them. Put a check mark in the box
to mdlcate your progn.'S.
Actio" Cllukfistjor Rspo"d
L Establish Clear Outcomes: Write down the results you want to
produce. Do your best to ensure your goal is achievable. behevable,
measurable, testable. and worthwhile.
[ Get into State: For optimumresourcefulness, enter a state ofrelaxed
a1ertncss before performing important activity.
L Show Up: Determine to dosomethmsyou have been aVOIding, and
show up ready to br. OIO\'er what happens when you s t art a tok
you had put 01in the past.
Measure Your Progress: Recognize any mall concrete changes in
the direction ofyour b'OOl. Celebrate any and aprs yOll make.
Rlspond
[ Go Easy on Yourself There no failure, only learmng. T'ke tme
to reviewwhatever outcomes you produce, then value and integrate
the feedback fromyour actons.
L Stay on It: Keep chooslllg and respondLlg, far past the point where
you would ha\'c quit befor. Give newbehaviors at least ffty [rials.
Keep learlllg about what Vk.
7J
Witness
imaglllc the safety and permissIOn you would have for learmng If you
could honestly afrm that wharc\'cr experience you havc is okay. If tim
s.1fery is not available to you imdlcctu:lUy, emotionally. and physically.
you might oscillte away from your goal and enter a stuck state. Willlcss.
rhe remarkably safe oasis ofself observOtion. nurtures us and keeps us
oriented to mtllg our highest potential in life.
When my wife Libby w a little !,>ri, she desperately wanted toJump
off the high dive. The high dive at the beach where htf family
V3C:H10ned one summer stood the centerpiece offim. Every cy she
\tched her brother, sister, and COUS1I1 performing ctjumps /omthe
11Igh board and splashinginto the waves. Alhoug Libbylonged to dive,
she Nterrified of the height.
On the last afteroon of vacation, she w determined. She scaled the
ladder, but once on tOp. she quickly sat on the platformand clung to the
roul. Her siblings tried everything to get her going. At first they
encouraged and entced her. Then they goaded her. When that didn't
work, they cajoledher. Finally, theyeven tried to push hel'-o no av.
The more thty urged, the tlghter she gripped. In the meantime, all the
kids lilled up on the ladder had to scramble over her to execute their
own cannonballs and swan divs.
Later, when the time came for her family to leave the beach, With
everyone else 01 shore, Libby knewno one would bother her. She stood
alone. edged to the end of the board, and looked over. In her mlild she
saw herselfJumplllg and surviving. She held her nose, dosed her eyes,
and leaped.
She loved it! She quickly paddled back to the dmng platform. Afer
dams "Just aile more dive" SIX tlnes, her frustrated fal1l1ly finally
draged little Libbyback to shore.
76
In the Namn Briliance retreat, I dcmonsITatc exactly how Libby
took her leap of faith off the dg platform and what she leared the
process. Professional hypnotists call what she did the "ftlling backwards
tcst," and the same exercise has also made the rounds in personal
development L$1IbVb b the "trUSt fll. ! \crc are the steps:
Stand with your feet together and your arms folded while someone
stands behind you with arms extended, palms f1Cing your shoulder
blades. leg set shoulder width apart, one foot ahead of the other. When
you close your ct and lean back. the "catcher" w SlOp your f11 wnh
wai[Jllg hands.
For some, falling is difcult. If they have fear, they wili try to catch
themselves mid-fall by putting one foot behind them. However. those
who do accomplish the trust fall follow a similar strategy every timc.
They sce themselves landing in the cltcher's hands and fecling safe.
So, in yOL mind's eye, from a perspective ofstanding either behind
yourelf or to the side of yourself, watch your own fall and sec
the safe catch.
interestlllgly, no kinesthetIc experiences complemem the visual
experience. Fint. as you watch the unagmary sdffall and get caught* feel
the placemcnt of tile catcher's hands on your own back. Second. enjoy a
corn.sponding internal feeling of safety.
The final component is an auditory statement that signals go-ahead.
You Jllay hear a voice saying Okay or Let's gal The words are less
important than how the internal voice sounds, not tense and anxious but
relaxed and porl, congruent \vith the feeling of 51fety.
Once agin the stratebI.
I)Vi sualize the fall fom an observer perspective.
2) Feel the imagined moment of being caught.
3) Feel safe at a gut level.
4) J-Iear your internal supportive voice give the go-ahead=
The trust !lies at the heart of witness. When people can witness
their own responses to the world, before, during, and afer tking action,
they cHn break through to learing.
What would you think if I summarized breakthrough as being a
change | your belief in yourself Most ofen, you have changed behef
about your capability when you learned how to ch new behaviors
and wm. Wimung demOlmr.tes capability. But ft, you must identif
yourself as someone who can win.
Can you recognize that you are I the driver's seat dunng the witness
Hrne
mode of the le<rning process? You dIrect your learning almost
exclUSIVely fom inside you. Just a little LIbby could not be cajoled into
jumping from the high dive, you and I are in charge of confntmg our
own fears and steppingup to challenges that face us. Similarly, we cannot
bully ourselves to change+ Witness provides safety and freedom for
learing and winning. Witness creates a safe place inside to imagine
ourselves as winnen.
Take a Consultant's Perspective
When I consult with compani'S, I have the advantage of a: outIde
perspective. I can sec thingfrom alongside or behind the scenes, a view
most "insiders" do not have long as they cling to their own problems.
Part of my mandate is to facilitate the employees to witness their own
process and their own solutions.
Again. when i work \vith individual clients, I have perspective toview
their suuanons [rm alongside. I may get an imight they cannot sec
fom their own point of view. BUI the paradox is that no matter how
many great ideas I come up with, the cbents themselves must shift
their own behavior.
You get toJUill
P
offyour own high dive.
The objective of Witness ill the Natural Brilliance model IS to
faciiit<lte you in developing your own consultam's point of view. Beyond
the StOp sign stretchl. 'S a splendid panorama ofchoices. Fmm the dist.lnce
ofa consultants perspective. you can learn efciently fromyour own
mistakes and slIccesses. Because you arc in charge of your own lIfe.
learmg fmm the consequences of your own actions reinfrces your
power as a self-gowmillg individual.
Throughout hory, people havc placed great value on the lSlght of
wise consultants. Now we call these people menror, sage, or gllr. In
anCIent tunes we knewthem a 1rophel, oracle, or Olgel. They have played
an enormously important role in the history of human psychic,
emotional, and spiritual developmenl. These wise couJlselors and
reachers have alwys faciltated the unfolding of human pmenrial. In fact.
[hey have guided the evolution of conSIousness throughout the ages.
Today our consciousness has evolved to [he poimwhere we st.nd
Te;dy to (ke the next step of human dlvclopment. Physicist and author
Peter Rusel. I his book Te II'ute Hole in Time, suggests humanity'S
next flIght up IS "Involution," a superova of cOllSciousneequivalent to
77
The secret of life lies not In the
discovery of newlands. but in
seeingthe worldwith neweyes.
Marcel Proust
French Novelist and Philosopher
8e<ome a watchman
at the gateway
of consciousness:
What opinions have I held
that haveheldme?
Whatillusionshave I hadthat have
hadF?
What positions have I taken
That have takenme?
D.Trinidad Hunt
Remembert Remember Who YouAn
78 Pm2: Gain .ht Skills ofNatroi Brillitmct
te implodlllg superova ofa maUlre star.
In his book Rmsd offers the following pJrble:
A !lund attached to Its belief I: like a person dmging [Q a
piece of rope.
He holds on for dear hfe, knowing that Jfhe wc[Q let go he
would fall to his death. HIS parents. his teachers, and many
others have toldhimthis is so; andwhen he looks around he can
see everyone else doing the C.
Nothing would induce himto let g.
Along comes a wise person. She knows that holding on IS
unnecessary, that the seCUrity It offers is illusory. and only hold
you where you . So she looks for a vyto dispel h illusions
and help him to be free.
She talks ofnu security, ofdeeperjoy, of rrue happiness, of
peace ofmind. She tels him that he cn taSte mlfhe willjust
release 1V finger fom the rope.
'One finger: thinks the man, 'thats not toollIuch to risk for
a taste of bliss.' So he agrees to take this frst LllItiation.
And be dOL" taste greaterjoy. happim'Ss, and peace ofmind.
Out lIot enough to bring lasting fulfillmem.
'Even greaterjoy. happmess andpeace can be yours;she tell
him, 'ifyou will JUSt release a second fnger.
'This: he tells himself. 'is b'Oing to be mort difcult. Can Ido
it? Will It be safe? Do I h:vc the courage?' I-e hesitates, then,
fexing his finger, feels how it would be to let go a lmlc
10re... and takes the rISk.
He is reheved to fnd he docs not t.IIlstcad he discovers
greater happlllcss and inner peace.
Uu could more be pOSSIble?
'Trust mc,' she says. 'Have I failed you so far? I knowyour
fe:rs, l knowwhar your mind is telling you-that this is crazy,
that it goes against everything you have ever Icaredbut,
please. trust me. Look at me. am I not fre? I pronuse you will
be safe. and you will know even greater happiness and
contentment.'
'Do I really want happLness and inner peace so much: he
wonders, 'that I am prepared to risk all that I hold dear? In
principle, yes; but can I be sure that I wLll be sfe, that I wlll not

WiwUJ
fall?' With a lutle cOOxing he begulS to look at hiS fears, to
consider thcir basis. and ro explore what it is he re:ally wants.
Slowly hc feels his fingers soften :nd relax. And knows he can
do It. It u only a matter oftire uhe knows he must do Lt. He
release his grip.
Phe does so an LVt:n grater sen of peace fo through |mI.
He J now hanging by one fngcr. Reason tells him he should
have fallen a finger or two ago, but he hasn't. ' I s there
something wrong Wthholding on itself?' he asks himself. ;Have
I been wrong all the timc?'
'Th one 1 up to you,' she says. ' I can help you no further.
JUSt remember that all your fears are groundless.'
Trusting his quict inner voice. he gradually releases the
last finger.
And nothing happens.
He Stys exactlywhere he is.
Thcn he realizes why. He has been standing on thc ground
all along.
And as he looks at the ground, knowing he need ncver hold
on again, he fnds trLle peace of mind.
,
In that arable, tiunk of the imporance of the witness perspectIVe, as
the fallmg backwards test and Libby's high dive. Witness takes us
beyond the limitation of our own behef mto aiternati\e universes of
choice. The final shift III belief is a tg to us individually.
Shift Your Perceptual Position
Historically
:
the term Wmcshas been compared to knowledge and
testimony. \ltness, I use it, consi sts of self-knowledge galiled fom
personal experience and knowledge g:ined frm obscrvmg the aC(JOIlS
f others. This knowledge, gained from thc tcstimony of your scmes
IIlterally and exterally, lets you wi tness yourself and otiwrs with ever
increasing clarity.
Consider three typlC.I perceptual positions fom which we exper
Ience our world:
.
"First Person," or the fn perceptual posmon, refers to expcncncing
hfe through ur own semory systems. I sec my world through my own
eyes. I speak 1 my own VOIce.
"Second Person," or the second perceptual position. refers to
7
8
PDrl 1: Gain theSkills of Natural B,il/ia"u
"walking a mile J rhe other person's shoes" or seeing the \orid from
someolle e' pomt of view. I speak 111 the second person as I empathize
with your positon V issues.
"Third Person," or the third perceptual position, refers to perceiving
the context in whih actions are taking place. ( see tllyst'lf over there, and
I see yu with me over there, so I mentally position myself as If I were
wathing the t of 1 V video. The th perceptual position [hat get
close to the witness perspective I refer to 111 Step 4 of Natural Brilliance.
Close, but not exactly it.
Witness, rhe fourth perceptual position, takes into account the frst,
second, and third perceptual positions simult;lcously. In it, you can
sense Self, Other. and Context with an outcome orientaron.
Patricia Danielson, my closest professional colleague in the
development of PhowRadlng, describes the outcome oriel1t;ltion of
witness as a state of "Positive Neutrality." I n tns state yOll detach, as an
observer, at the same time yOll believe yOll and the other person can
both achieve your desired n.'ults. We distinguish this state &om someone
trymg hard to gt[ a goal-struggling and obsessing over every little
failure. Posim'C neutrality allows us to witness our succcssc$ and filun.
in various sItuations (or contexts) in a larger life COntext.
Most cultures have no smgle word to describe this complex state.
Paradoxical in nature, i t perceives the existence of opposites and
imcgrates them. From the witness perspective ! can .i\, "My failure
today is okay, because I am hladed somewhere much more IInportant
than this." Witness accepts and resoh duality.
Witness, In Its detached involvement, combines the roles of nurturing
parent and the consultng observer. Witness tkes the met-position that
learrung is there 1.
Benefit from Witness
The consequences of Responding (Step 3) withom WitlH!ssing (Step 4)
can be devastating. When you confrom disapproal and pllnishment in
your attempt to lear and to Improve the quahty of your bfe, stop signs
pop up at e . . ery crossroad. Comrary to what some comend, "(ofl$mw;ve
(ifirism" does nO[ exisl. Constructl\" feedback is far different fm the
act offnding fault. Thqudgmental mind criticizes and screams, Don't
do that agam!' Fault-6ndmg le < dto blame; blame leads to feeling bad
about yourself feeling bad about yourself leads to oscillation. Once the
lViII/iSS
vicious cycle Start, stuck states abound.
When you respond and witness, you can perceive that you did
somethmg that did not move you III the direction of your goal. For
example, I undcntood my temper abenated me frm the love I \vaTlted
to feel with my wife and children. I f.llly understood my anger at their
behaviors was a response based on fear. So what? That is fine. J ean
continue to blow up i n anger until my dying breach. It is my life.
No one can change my responses III the world. The quesrion is still
'What do I want?" I!want a response other chan an angry temper,
what would :t be?
Notice the oscillaton set lip by my getting angry and critical of myself
for helllg angry and critical of others? We see a lot of bumper stickers,
poltical cartoons, and wry jokes based on the paradoxes of oscillation.
!: thinking of tile person who says '" think prejudiced people should
be shO(. , hate jlldgmental people:' I remember a lapel button abom
capital punishment that read: "Why do we kpeople who kpeople t
send a message that kl g pople is wrng?"
Exposing our shortcomings IS not the goal of Witness. The goal IS
getting what we wanL When I fall to achieve what I want, I do
not have to hop 01U0 an emotional roller coaster of trying hard(r only
to f
.
li l abrlll1.
Think of Wi mess as an oasis expenence, a restorative pause in the
Jourey, for the \vanderer in rncdesert. Witness offers perspective in the
learing process called m, a pause that couches us emotonally. lIl/onns
us intdlectually, and refeshes us spltlcually
If you ha\' ever b'One on a retreat, you may already know the broader
benefts of \vitn(ing. ! a reteat, you pull back fm liVing life III the
external world to get closer to yourself so that yu can lIVe fully. The
experiences of your l can yield rich mformatlon to m{` etm yu, to ]etm
il yOIl, and, ultimately, (Q ]emycu. Witness makes this rich source of
informatIon available at evcry level of your being.
Integrate Your Witness in Moments of Truth
Without Witness, it u easy to deny the consequences of my self
defeating and unproductive actions, and thereby lose my lIomel of
muir-my chance to learn and grow. When I do something that feels
good but does not get me what I want. !face a moment of truth. I know
what ! have done. Uut, winch perspective will [ chose: to learn and be
81
In our office. we hold an annual
meeting: a Vision Meeting. Each fall
we spend an entire day analyzing
the past year. We use only two
questions on our analysis: -What
worked well?- and "What could
work better7" Out of these two
questions we gather the feedback.
Our feedback is not only from our
numbers and statistical records, bot
also office staff Slml staff and
graduates of our program. Each
person i invited to share an
opinion, an obsefVation, or insight
as well as an idea, a possibility, or a
solution. This way everyone shapes
what the ne.1 year will look like.
We seek out each opportunity for
feedback and apply what we have
learned. We spend time organizing
our feedback. prioritizing. and
acting on it systematically.
In acknowledging and employing
the feedback we receive. we have
grown from one program to an
international organiZation.
Learning from our example, M
students apply the feedback they
receive with any challenge and
know they have the ability to
succeed in all tey do.
Bobbi DePorter; President
learning Frum SuperCamp
Quantum Learning Success
Products
82
A researcher invites four-year-old
children, one by one. into a plain
room and begins an experiment_
"You can have this marshmallow
right now: he says. "But if you
wait while I run an errand, you can
have two marshmallows when ' get
back: Then he leaves. Some
children grab for the treat
immediately. Some last a few
minutes before they give in. Others
are determined to wait and do
everything they can to avoid
thinking about and eating the
marshmallow. 'hen the researcher
returns, he gives these children
their two marshmallow Then. he
checks in on them years later. By
the time the children reach high
school, those who were able to
hold out for the second
marshmallow generally grew up to
be better adjusted. more popular,
adventurous, confident and
dependable teenagers. The children
who gave in to temptation early on
were more lifely to be lonely, easily
frustrated, and stubborn. They
buckled under stress and shied
away from challenges.
From the "EQ Factor" by Nancy
Gibbs, Tme Magazine,
October 2, 1995
Part 2: Gain tilt Ski/II oj Natural Brillilnct
smarter for It or to deny and walk away from it?
For example, 1 can overspend on a piece of audiO gear and rationalize
my decision as taking advanuge of a good deal. The problem, which [
can easily predict from the witness perspective, will come when the
"Zero-lntercst-for-Six-Months" time period IS over. When my short
term buy response compromises my long-range fnanciaJ goals, I hJV a
moment of truth to face.
As a child I learned that when external authority not watching, I
could get away with thing;. I could break rules and get at me off -limits
goOOi( of life. / adults, we create rules to govern our behavior and
manage ourselves. \ create rules because we know we cmmot always
fol/oll tl'f",--we cannot always lIve up [ our high('t e:l'ecrarions. \hen
we break rules, ` face consequences. The stronger the rule, the more
difcult it is to foUow and the greater the consequcnces.
Witness. however, docs not prescribe an automatic consequcnce.
With witness online. you can determine how to respond at the moment
of truth from the perspective of a broader life comext. Your response
coming from the long perspective of witness will marc likely beneft
your whole life.
Let me off er an analogy: [he "near death" experience ofa client in
Mexico. Near-death experiences bring us spontaneously into witness.
No one knows why. but in the instant of our brush with dearh, we
suddenly rt.'View our entre life, seeing it u: the broadest of context.
My dient, Gerardo, pm his motorcycle down at high speed in tfc.
He plunged under an oncoming pickup truck, only to wake lip days
later in the hospital. By every calculation, Gerardo should have been
killed or permanently dISfigured. He hlaled from the accident
completely. unscathed neurologically and physically.
Emotionally, Gerardo had transformational healing. A he lay 1 hIS
hospital bed, he began to review Ius life. Throughout his twenty ylars of
hving, people never mattered mllch to him; he used them a means to
mend. He never gave a second thought co doing others wrong. They
wcre not mproblem, bm he was certai nly their problem.
Gerardo felt that, by some divmc intervention, he had been given z
second chance in life. He resolved [ go to every peron he had ever lef
with ill will and personally apologIze to them.
To meet this young man today, you immediately perceive a wisdom
beyond his years. Surrounding him i s a spiritual radiance and a pure jp
for living. HIS lovely young wife and baby boy are blessi ng to him of the
I, jlnl1
highest order. Gerardo feels he i s doing better me second rime around,
a result of what he WItnessed about his own lifc.
You do not have t go to the extreme of a near-denh experience
order to witness your life. Vou can also aclueve :m special perspective
safely and intentionally. Witness allows lS to perceive the
mtcrconnectcdn( of our actions t the toality oflife. The frightened,
fearful peron has limited visibility on the Outcome of any act. Living life
successfully in the long run requires awareness of how r<Sponses t life
today shape the continuously unfolding future. Your payback for
WItnessing can be profound.
Tluuk of th present moment on an ullagl rimeline that stretches
back 1110 the past and forward into the future. It is possible, with the
power of your imagination, to witness thc course of your hfe. For
example, you can observe the past and witness the path you have
traveled. You can :lso reasonably predict the outcomes you will
experience in the future, extending the trajectory of your current
habitual behaviors forward time. Ar your behaviors today creaung
the I.lture you desire? If not, what do you want?
By eliminating fear, which fogs your VIsion. you will spontaneously
generate :l big perspective of life. Instead of running up against stop signs,
you will get an inner sil,"nal to go ahead.
look into the Shadows
BClng clear to witness the context and validity of our actions has
strong personal developmental benefts. Witness gives us insight into
the repressed, or "sl1dow," en('rgies we keep hidden frOIll othcrs,
plus it exposes rhe dysfunctional strategies we use to avoid confronting
our fears.
Fear Imposes a profoundly negatrng efect on life. Alhough it is
biologically impeftlve to notice and repond to the warmngs that fear
signals, fear is seldom good for our well-being. Paradoxically, many times
it only gets in our way. Instead of saving ollr li\'es. fear often keeps us
fromllVUlg. H have f
.
liled in the past, respond to fear 011 the basis
of an unconscious faulty conclusion about our capability for the fture.
Our typical inherently self-defeating responses to fear keep liS from
tapPlllg our full potemial.
If you ever console a chil d who is afrid of the dark, you Will have a
chance to observe how we generate mydlical fears and cope with thcm.
83
I listened to William Miller, author
of Your Golden Shadw, say that as
we take each stuffed feeling out of
our shadow bag and make it our
friend, we discover the golden
creative self. l wanted to jump up
and dance; I knew this to be true.
As I released each repressed
emotion. I delighted at the gihs my
creative imagination gave me.
Barbara E. Kobe
Creativity Mentor and Facilitator
84 Par' 1: Gaj" the SkillJ oj Nalurol BriliiaPlU
Children prOject frightening Images beyond the circle of hght and
generate corresponding tremulous emotions. They conjure up the most
hideous monsters lurkmg deep in (he shadows.
One night my youngest son, Scott, woke lip cowering from a
grotesque monster that lay in walt outside the window near Ius bed.
When I sugested he could consider that the monster had horrible fang
made of marshmallows dripping with hot chocolate sauce, his f\c-ya
old imagination eagerly joined the game. We continued to add red
gumdrop eyes. claws of gummy worms, spaghetti hair, and a g1oflOus
green fosting hIde sparklmg with rJnbow-coJored sprmkles until he fell
peacefully back to sleep. Weeks bter, he mentioned mattcr-of-6ctly that
he had seen the monster again. This time, all on his own, he had
outftted him with new feamres, equally wonderfid.
Instead of feeling fear and withdrawing, SCOlt had been able t feel his
insecurity and actlwly respond. He placed the images and feehnb he
wanted into the shadows of his Ilund. Rather than covering Ius head, he
embraced the opportunity.
In the shadows of adults lurk memOTles of emotionally painful
experiences. Most of us bear sOllie wounds. It m3y be impossible to
Lompletely avoid getting hurt while growing up. The big problem with
wounding experiences come when we create faulty conclusions about
ourselves and generate mythjcal fears based on them.
For example. the attitude `'II\: Iio good. I can't lear to do anything
right" genel'ltcs myUucal fears about failure and success. Such fears cause
liS to avoid somethmg or to give up lcarmg skls \ve need. When we
witness Ollr choicl"'!, we often discover we have chosen to Imry part of
our ahventS , our Creativity, our eageress to explore life to the fllest.
Robert Uly, poet-laureate of the men's movement IJ1 Amenca, \IOte
in hiS A L|rIc Hook all lie Hrmllll Slldow that we all drag a long bag
behrnd us, Snifed fll of the rt" pressed parts of our pef1nity. Often. the
bag holds sOllle of our most creatIve resources, lost to because of some
embarrahing ridicule that hurt enough elliotionally. "The nice side of
the personahty becomes, i n our idealistic culnlre, mcer and nicer," \Wltes
Illy. " But the substance the bag takes on a [regressed] persollabty of Its
own .. . Every part of our personality that we do not love will become
hostile to us." These repressed pam a called our shadow.
By witnessmg your chain of responses to fear, you can create a new
path out of the shados. Perhaps we need nothing more than a dollop of
SCOtt's marshmallows, hot fudge sauce, and ralllbow spflnkles. The
Utnf1S
secret is in rcplaclllg fear With 1m'e.
Milton R. Cudney, Ph.D. spent thirty years oflllS profl.'Ssional life
researching self-defeating behaviors. Hi s brilliant book with ltobert E.
Hardy, Ed.D. descnbes a way Out of fcar, denial, and sclf-efearmg taps.
I n their book, Self-DejlllrillR Behllviors: Free Yoursel fro
'
l tie HlbilS,
COlllplllsiollS, Fee/illgs, llld Alliwdes urHold YOII BlCk, they offer this
usefl ll1sight:
Above all. never lose Sight of the fact that self-defeating behaviors are
both dangerous and deceptive. They come IIlto your life a apparem
friends who offer comfort and protection in moments of dm. They
help you through these threatening moments, and for this you are
grattful--so gratefill that you come to believe that you cannot live
without their devious compny. Sooner or later, though, thl 'c behaviors
reveal their true natufC. At [hat point. you must f
.
1ce rhe realization that
your self-defeating behaviors have been unworthy companions and
unrustworthy 6ides. The comfort that these behaviors offer is f. If
you rely upon them too long_ they will lead you away frolll the road of
health, growth. and m. Self-defeating behaviors \vill. ill the end. take
you precisely where you didn't want to go.
Manifest Your Highest Good
The exciting opportunity that Witness provides goes beyond
accomplishing successful results. The Bibll refers to the power of
IIHlgratll1g the beneficial and detnmental results of our actions. The
phrase 111 1 John +: h Perfect love casteth out all fear" captures it.
William A. Miller. in Ius book, Yo,., Goldl Shadow, describes the
walth--gold-to be enJO)'ed when w redaull shadow energy.
We can find a way to bring that negative potential into
contact Wuh ItS counterpart the persona and efect a
unifcation ofthesc opposites. Thus we fnd a way to use
creatively and constructively what we loathed before or even
\3nted to deny the eXistence of within ourselves.
Furthermore, we discover the unconscious positive elements
that are the counterparts of the nastiness III our conscious
persona and work to bring about a ulllfcatloll of these
OppOSItes.
Beyond this lies the real gold of all the positIve potential
85
86
Shifting your anention to focus on
what youalreadyhave is what I
call itdigging for gold and mining
fordiamonds. searching for your
inner treasures.Whenyou focus
on those treasures a magical thing
happens, you discover other hidden
treasuresthatwerea part ofyou
all along. So learntoappredate
and lerto celebrate. Your life
will change.
Rex StevenSikes
Founder of IDEASeminars
Part 2: Gaill til SkUb ojNalural Drilliallct
win us that never has had the opportumty to see the light of
day. What treasures lie Illdden In onc's unconscious can be
discoveredonly by the one who will seek themOUI.
In the Naruml Brilliance model we prsfrom otice to 11spond
to Witness. In [he Witness phase have the opportumty to lnttgrate
everytlungwe learned andprepare for thc next step III our evoluton
rdeasUlgonce again. That's right. We cycle back to release and extend
our genius evenfurther toward our goals.
In this continuous cycling we fnd the patter of the successfl l
long learner. In the cycle ofthe Natural Dnlhance model, the fnin our
passion for life is fueled with tach step oflearning we take. We
experience enthusiasmfor life and learning simultaneously. Enthusiasm,
frolll the Latin root word cmrn:, meaning " God within." is an ever
Oowingfountain ofhope. The brilliant future we desire to create in our
lives manifests each d, with each step of Natural Brilliance WI take.
Summary
Consider usingone or more of the suggestions fomthe chapter each
day until you have c}perienced all of them. Put a check mark il1 the o
to indicate your prs .
Acrio, ClucklistJarWillltss
j Fall Backwards: With a partner, do the falling backwards test.
Discover what it hto offer :uabout knowmgit IS okayto proceed.
L Consultant's Perspective: Pretend to sit across fromyourselfand take
on the perspec{1ve of a wise and trusted counselor. Have a
convrsation with the i maginary part of yuaboUt a problemyou
walH to resolve. Hold no IIwesnnent or judgment about the
outcome; slnply learn fomthe conversation.
[Perceptual Position: Remember a dificult situation involving you
and another persoll. Think through what happened from each of
the three perceptual positions; first (yours), second (the other
person's), third (a disassociated VIc\V of the whole context). Finally,
witness what yu leared by examining all three.
L Oasis Experience: At mght before going to sleep, reviewyour day
without judgment or cntlClsm. Offer yourself blessing and
celebntion for domg your best. Ask yourscJf"What do ! want for
litntu
my l ife?" Resolve to implcmcnr your intention when you
awaken tomorrow.
L Moment of Truth: ] )etermine to face lip to a moment of truth
when It arm'es today. Confront your self-defeating behavior with
the question. " What do I want to create for myself right now?"
\hen you can anS\er the ql Srion, thank yourselfand lIumedi.tely
Othe frst step to mal11fcstingyour highest good.
j Peek Into the Shadows: Explore the belief you hold that you do
not want to adnl1t to yourself. Ex:nnine your reactions, whether
they be cunous attraction or repuis.ioll, to tt in others. Exam.ine
your behaviors, looks, clirjokes you retell, and movies you watch.
What taboo do you tend to break or wish you could? What do you
do that you consider socially nasty?
L Shadow Dancing: Find ways to creatively and constructively use
your nastiness. One waring; Acknowledge your shadow, but be
careful not to indulge ir. Set boundaries around exploring your
shadowto emure what you do serv("" your best interest.
87
Put Natural Briance to
Work for You
A businessman came to sec IllC for individual consultations. He
employed thousands of people and made multimillion-dollr decisions
every day. When it came to his personal life. however, he managed\'Cry
poorly. His marriage had ended in a tUlllultuous divorce. His dales
usually disllltcgratcd into social disasters. He couldn't even choose a
restaurant for dmner. Because he could IlOt decide what decor he hkd,
he had seuled for furnishing the living room of his high-priced
CQndOIlUllIumwith aluminumlawn chairs.
\orklllg with this man taught me an important lesson. Success
strategies do not necessarily transfer from one area of a person's life to
another. The skill sets used to accomplish bU5iness and financial success
are completely different from those used to manage personal and close
I1terpersonal lssues.
For many reasons in i1js personal history this man had realized his
gelllUS III business. yet he w Snick M hi s personal life. In my experience
most people seem to enjoy great success III some areas of their lives,
while rheystruggle 1other a.
Think of your successes. In these areas, you have learned and
developed the essential skills to produce eiectlve result. In domgso, you
have cycled through the four steps of Natural BriJliance many tltnes.
Through a life-long prcess of cominuous learning and improvement,
you can expect to attain exponemjal fulfllment and accomplishments.
E\11 when It feels as if you are taking n steps forone step b<ck;
as the yars progress, so do you.
Now think ofthe areas ofyour mwhere you a sruck. Where do
YOli not achieve results you deme? Where do giant stop signs lIlhibit
your progress? ^you bafed by your jnabilil)' to get what you waut?
Apply the Natural Brilliance model to your stuck areas to break
90 Part 2: Gain Iht Skills ofNat"ral Brillianu
through the limitatons of your dysfullcrional learmng process. Reclaim
your geillus to accomplish what you desire.
This chapter will help you pull OUt the stop sigs and I"Clilstall Natural
Brilliance where you need It most. You can learn and develop the skills
essential for success.
learn How To learn
The purpose of using the Natural Brilliance modd IS to dampen the
yo-yo effect of oscillation; pull out stop signs that w're installed
emotlonally, intellectually, and physically: realize your capdbihtles for
genius; and create a path to success.
Natural Brilliance produces outcome-based, genertive learning, lIot
therapy. Every rime you rorcs:, ycu also learn how to lear and how
to succeed. The long-range beneft is that instead ofstaying stuck 111
oscillation, you will naturally stCp imo a continuous cycle of lifeong:
Icarg---Nanlral Brilliance.
To illustrate howyou can use the Natural Brilliance model, I wgIVe
real-life exampk-s of two people who used their Nalural Brilliance ro
resolwtheir issues. I chose their stories because they deal with opposite
ends ofa smge dilemma. Compathe results theget before and afer.
Patty experiences problems balancmg her career success and her
imimate-rclationship difculties. A dedicated, persistent, hard-workmg
individual, Patty receives consistent acknowledgment for her
accomplishment. She has always obtamed anyjob she wanted. When
she decided to change careers. she dId It easily. Patty 10 her career.
Her marriage was a different story. After seven dIfcult years, she
divorced her }ughschool sweetheart. She has good fiends. but no male.
At nmes, coming home to a lonely apartment makes her feel hke a
failure in the personal area of her life. ''I'm attractivc. 1'111 a nice person."
Bail ed by the lIlcongrtl1ty bneen her career success and her marriab 't
failure, she asks, "So what's wrong With me?" Patty feels everything in
her l is fabulous, except when it comes to havinga long-term lIlt1lnate
relatonship With someone she lows.
Deth, on the other hand, has concentrated on belllg a patient.
conscientious mother and Wife. She and Pete have been l11arned for
eighteen years. Although they have been through many difcult times,
they mainulII dleir strong comnlleT1t to each odler.
Tralled at the university as an a educator, Deth has never f1shed
Put Your Nawrot Brifiatlu 10 WorkJor You
her degree nor pursued her career. Instead, she has sacrificed to help her
husband develop his career. Ever presem in her three chIldren's lives,
Beth has been PTA preSident, church board mcmber, community
volunteer, and school mOIll. Withom her hard work, many of the
volunteer programs that suPPOrt hcr children's school and community
would have f
.
.iled.
With the youngest chIld now in school full-time, Beth feels empty.
She knows she needs to supplement the family IIlcome to prepare for
upcoming college expenses. While her husband is at the height ofhis
professional career. 13eth realizes she has done nothing in her own. She
want to work but doesn't know what skills can she oter to carn a decent
wg. Ifshe rahos a fuU-tll1le posItion, she WIll not be available when the
ki ds are on spring break or SU1l er vacation.
Trapped 111 the dilemmabet\vcenVcrkand family, Beth fecis lost. She
is a great asset to her part-time employer, bur her wage hardly
justifes lhe hassils. She lo\'cs her family, yet she feels she has wasted
her career potential.
Patty and Deth are oscillating between opposing ideas: Career vs.
Relationship. Barh have developed significalll skills in their OWll areas of
success. When they try to make progress in their areas of weakness,
hO\ .. (er, they feel more discouraged every tillle they attempt a solution.
The rad scents endless WIth htde hope. As Oeth describes it, "The light
at the end of my ntnne! is JUSt another oncoming train."
I will use Pany and Beth to illustrate how the steps of
Naturl Brilliance released thelll frolll their stllck statcs and got them
on track to theIr goals.
Get an Attitude
In the prevIOus four chapters, I have described how to develop the
kills in e,ch of the four steps. Uelow, in the chart of the Four Steps of
Natural Brilliance, J have added three artimdes that wiU help incorporte
the skills into your life. These attimdes and the exercises I suggest to
build thelll cOllle largely fm my work with model in creatl\e and
divergent thinking Or. Frank E. Williams created more than twenty
years ab'O.
1
92
Paft 2: Gun /t Skills of Natural Bril/iartu
Between releasing and noticing, & Recetive; open to the magmfcent
opportunities that abound all anound youand in you.
Bet\veen noticmg and responding, Be Ce:tcrtite,create alterative
interpretations and unusual options for yollclf. Ializc every problem
has within it stucture the seed of a solution. If we approach It properly,
we nurture new grth in the direction of our goals.
l3eten responding and wnicmg, Ur Io: uutl.make your purpose
central to your acuon. Experiential learg 1eguiC you to engage in
living. When you show up consistently. you gain as much from your
steps fonva.rd as fom your steps backward.
Analyze Your Results and Step Up to Natural Brilliance
To b'Ct what you desire, jov need to analyze what you have that di rs
f1om what you want, to recogmIe your stuck state, and to release.
I am gomg to assume you hav chosen a stuck state to play with. In
some area of your l, you recogntze you are not gettng the resultS you
want, and you enter a COllllllon oscillation every tllle you try to
solve your problem.
Patty states her maorIif iSSll as a problem of esrablishing a long
terlll loving relationship. Patty tends to focus more on her career
and enjoys the ease and success of her work. Meanwhile she struggles
with the difficulty and discomfort of trying to establish a close
personal relatonship.
Her oscillation includes four components: IUovmg toward the
benefts of a loving relationship, moving toward the benefts of success
on [he job, moving away from the detriments of dating, and movmg
away from the detrimentS of working as the total focus ofhfe.
Put).ur Nllura/ Brillianu to HrkforYoN
With pulls toward and afm each end of the contuum between
career and relatonship, Patty stops.
What are you oscillatmg between? Go back to the description
of the stuck state you created in Chapter 2 when yov diagnosed your
stUck stat. On the worksheet that follows, fill out th blanks to
add to your description.
I) What issue have you wanted to break through? Write this in
the space under 71cL(c L:tu.
2) What opposites are fghting within you? Label what pushes
you and what pulls you your oscillation.
On the lef end of the Rauge oj Bellaviar line, write what you
tend to mova\fay fium (the fear).
On the right end of the RImgr 4 Behavior line, speci/ what you
tend to move toward(the opposite of the fear, which is probably
your goal.)
These labels define the Ind points of what I refer to in Chapter
3 as your comfort zone, or mI! ! qbe/tmicr.
3) What are the benefts at each end point? In the stop Si!11S
abo\'e the line. w- specifc bene6tS a ated with each end of
the continuum.
Above the fear, write in the preseut positives you now
enJOy. These arc benefts you want to keep when you change your
life issue.
Above the opposite of the (ar, write in the (ture positives you
hope to enjoy. These are beneft )'Ou want to achieve by maklllg a
change III your hfe issue.
Benefts should be stated 1 positive terms. For e7mple, '"
would no longer be lonel\ is not a beneft statement. '" would
fed .ufe and loved" is stated in positlve terms.
4) What are the detnmems at each end point? In the stop signs
below the Ime, wnte specifc detrllnents associated with each elld
of the cotium.
l3elow the fear, write in the present nCb'tl\es yu now suffer.
These are detrunents you want to eliminate when you change
your life muc.
Below the opposite ohhe fear, wme 1 the mnegatves you
don't wam and are afid Inlght show lip. These are detriments
you \"am to a\'ld whel1 l11aimg a change 1 your life issue.
93
to
94
Present
Positives
Benefits
Y Ilt to keep '"w
Pa,' 1: Gain meSkills ofNatural Brillianu
(
THE LIFE ISSUE
Benefits
Youwant to .chle".
future
Positives
What you tend
What you tend
mOle away from
to mOle toward
(fear)
RANGE (Opposite of Fear)
OF BEHAVIOR
( )
(
'
Detriments
You want to elim;n,lte
Detriments
Youwlnt to avoid
Present
Negatives
future
Negatives
Now take a time-out. Cease struggling and allow the stress to
evaporate. Remember, you cannot resolve this paradoxical problem
t1smg your typical problem-solving strategics because they put the
problem Into place originally.
For resources 01 releasing, look at me techniques in Chapter 4 and
the APpllU.,
PI' YON, Natural B,if/ianrt to JrkjorYoN
Be Receptive: Receive Your Genius
Stuck states cause emotional nlrnlOI and mental confusion. Release
will get you past the majority oftht chronic effects of your problem
situation. Happily, as YOll calm down, you increase your sensory
awareness and your receptivity. ( Also refer to Chapter b: Notice)
Now, let's really opcn thinb' lip.
Belllg receptive includes three discrete cOlllponents: Think Flexibly,
Inquire. and Access Your lnncr Mind.
"ll'lIk FIl!xibl)'
Sk. ed problem-sokers think fexibly to produce a variety of ideas,
respomes, questions, and solutions to the problems. Seek as Illany
different directions or alternatives yOll have time to consider.
When you are considering what to do about a situation, shift
approaches or change d.nTtion in thinking. as you \\-'uld in a car whell
you encounter a detour. Flexible thinkers come up with numerous
dlfferemideas.
Play with these exercises mthe next fewweeks, and put a check mark
by lach one afer you do it:
Thmk of various ways to usc an object other than the way it is
commonly used.
Think of alternative ways to use a beneft or a detriment of your
problem.
Make lip differem interpretations of specific events, simatons. and
problems related to your Issue.
Apply a principleor conet'pt to yourlifeIssue that has nothmg to do
With your Issue. For example. think of choosing a career the way
you would make d large purchase. What If you knewyour career
would be obsolete within 6\e to ten years?
T ke another's point of viewor consider situatons difrently from
the way you normally would.
Dieuss your situation with others and take a differelll position
frolll theirs.
Tlullk of a numberof d rempossibilities for solvng}'ur problem.
nqn
Skilled problem-solvers 1ll01lltalll curiOSity. the sa l ient characu'ristic
of all learners. Someone who is stuck is certalll. Someone solving
problems irgt.in.
95
In a testofcreativityNobel
laureatesgenerat' difef(nt
ideas inlesstimethantheother
t categories oftestsubjects. The
lesson: Welcome thequick-witted
differentintuitiveideas.
96 Pw 2: GaiN tht Skilll oj Nafmd Bri/fi"N(t
A curious person observes keenly and inquires. Find out about the
people, the objects, and the sitllations associated with your life issue.
Wonder. Give yourself time to "not know," to explore, to ask questions,
and to puzzle over thing for awhile.
Play with these exercises In the next few weeks, and put a check mark
by each one afer you do it:
Inquire into everything, and question everyone.
Observe your body and mind when an iSSle causes you to oscillate
or stops you.
Question the usually accepted vof approacrung mproblem area
of your m.
Search books, maps, piCtureS, people, and strategies constantly
looking for new ideas.
Explore the unmiliar.
Usc all your senses to make sense out of thingl.
Probe for the subtleties afhow the problem operates.
Study the meaninbl details.
co&Ycr!rrMind
Skillful problem-solvers rely on their inner mind to produce answers,
because tht.-y know that most of the resources for personal change and
development reside there, not in the conscious !lund. It IS your
conscious mind's attempt to mhcyour current problem that keeps you
stuck in it. To do somedung new means to change brain Slates from
conscious struggle to inner guidance. One of the themes of Natural
Brilliance is the extraordinary power of the inner mind.
Making changes u:brain states i s a specialty of Dr. F Noah Gordon.
In his book, Maiw/ C|osmm,he describes three possible bralll states.
Like changing channels on a television, we can change our brain
channels and access much more of the bram's potential for action
learning and creativity.
YOli usc the Action Channel when you perform physically. You
Ilususe it if you turn to it for learing, remembering. and creating.
Irnically, although the Action Chalmel serves youbadly for answering
tests in school, it is the channel most schools access. To reach the
infnitely larger potential of your inner !lund, the Acton Channei ls the
worst. Use the Action Channel 4ter you have resolved your stuck st.te
\vith Natural Brilliance.
On the other hand, yOll access the Learning Channel by frst passmg
through a "relaxaton goue." Quietng your mmd put yourbram mto the
PUI Your Nalu"d Brillidnrt I IorkJor You
alpha state, the home of the rcal learer. This calm state is a relaxed
mode where YOli perceive direcdy fom your sensory systems. In it you
call cnjoy cfford learing.
The High Creativity Channel uthe "home of super abilities." In this
reverie state, acruC'd through the pmcncc of accessing the inner mind,
you rccei\ creati\' flashes, mmitve rtponses, and spiritual inspiraton.
Your genius resides here, according to Or. Gordon. Clearly, you
need to nme into this channel to create the results you wam from a
paradoxical problem.
While you are in touch with your inner resources, you have the
opportunity to tap the cumulative genius of other great m.inds as well.
Imabone, entering a relaxed imler stte and downloading into your inner
database the expert knowledge of the most brilliant thinkers on any
subject YOll choose. From this enormous database, you can
spontaneously maillfest )'l success.
III Pan 3 of this book, you will iear Photolteading and Direct
Learing, cutting-edge methods to capitalize on the vast potential of
your inner m.ind. Ideas about how to create the result you desire will
begin to bubble up. The effects Illay be subtle or conspicuous. rhoto
Rcaders often recognize changes in their interal representations-their
inner pictures, voice, and feeling-and their actions afer PhotoReading
inspirational books.
Be Generative: Create New Choices
The second step to Natllr:l Brilliance is Notice. This is your time to
gther information frm the world around you and within you. If you
have played \vith the attitudes- discussed above, you already well on
yourway to creatng choices you never before dreamed pOSSible.
Imember Beth in our example. She was striving to fll her dreams
of a career. By noncmg. she began to observe her belief regarding how
much the cOllummity, the church. her children, and her husband needed
her on a moment-to-moment basis. Her assumption had been that,
without her, nobody else would do anything; at the same time she
resented everyone for usurpmg her life ellef.
^ she noticed, she bebrall to walk away from comllttees at school
and fellow51up circlt'S at church and discover her priorities mattered. She
maintained her power by saying that it now up to someone else to
contribute. Beth asked her husband and chil dren to share chores.
97
98
Two months after I learned the
Natural Brilliance steps, I as
standing at the base of Mount
Kilimanjaro in Africa. My legs shook
with fear at the challenge ahead. I
took a few breaths, took a good
look at what I was doing. worked
out that the root fear was not
being warm enough on t summit,
rented a pair of windproof trousers
there and Immediately calmed
down.
The 20,000 feet climb ahead of me
went without any fear or
trepidation.
Chris Payne. Managing Director
UfeTools, ltd, England
ParI 2: Gui" tll Skills oj Nall/riJl Brilliatlct
Soon, she had tme to refect on her career. P she did s, her stop
signs connted her, woundshe had II1curred in jobs afer high school
and dunng collebr. She realized she was aUrid [Q put herself back ultO
the workplace. "What if I can't do the job? What if ! don't have the
knowledge and skill? What if I need mon: education?"
Keep 1 mind that the goal here is not to solve the problem. The goal
is to notice new options and decide how [Q rpond dilcrcmly, III a way
that bui lds small concrete IUdlcators of movement in the nght direction.
In thiS process of discovery resist the urge of rushing [ chan6' your life
too soon. Otherwise, you will run IIltO the same old problcms. The
guaranteed \ay [ ensure your success: o6nerative.
Remember that with therapeutic or remedial change, you seek to h
what is broken. With thc alterative of generative !hange, you take care
of your present situation by creating your own present and future rsult.
Between the steps of Notice and I.spond.enhancu:g your generativc
approach to problem-solving will reap enormous benefits. The
component to thi approach include bemg motivated by complexity,
and engaging muent, original, and elaborative thinking.
Sl'k Complexity
The frst Lomponent of a generath' attitude is to desire raking 011 a
challenge:' Think of the people you know who thrive on tackling
complicated simati ons and difcult problems. They delight III generatmg
clevtr solutions.
Exercise your generative muscles over the next few ... eeks by applying
the followmg challenb< not only to your personal issue but also dllly to
your home and carer. Put a check mark by each one afer you do It:
Find thing to apprciate about complex ideas or problems.
Discover intrigumg aspect of IllC y situatio1s.
Delve to the mLt complex t ask ft to fnd w!t makes t complex.
Consider the ramcations of choosing the most difcult way Out.
Figur things out for yourself, without help, in at least part ofyollr
problem.
Enjoy the challenge of doms something thaI uharder for you to do
than most taSks.
Dlsco . . er the tl of doing soillcthmg again and ag:In M order to
@nsuccess.
Be tenacious and take susfdcuon not giving up easily.
Choose the harder problem because of its complexny.
PUf lour Natural Bril/ianu t orkJor You
Seek mor dl.f culr answers rather than accepting an easy one.
1,i,.k Flluntll
With the second component ofbelllg gel1eratie, a person who tends
to be fluem in or her thinking usually comes up with the most ideas,
responses, solutions, or questions. They produce a quantity of ways or
suggestions for doing things. It b characteristic of a fluent thinker to
always thlllk of more than one answer and count1g these alteratives
deterunes how fuent a person is.
Here arc some ways for you to eXlrCise the cognitive skill of fluelll
thlllking. Play with them in the next few weeks and put a check Illark by
each one afer you do it:
Generate a fow of allSwers when you ask a question.
Ask Iliany questions.
Dr
.
lw sLveral picturs whtn asked to draw one.
Create numerous idcas about something while others struggle for
one Idea.
Us a lar
g
e number of words when expressing yourself.
Produce mor than others :rouud you.
Work tast and do mor litanjust the assignmem in fnt ofyol!.
Add, subtt:ct, multply, :nd diVide.
Assullle the opposite: that the false IS true; the ridiculous, serious;
the lularous,sad.
Origillat!
Generate original ideas. Invent. Celebrate your uniqueness. Think
your OWIl thoughts The third component of generativJty celebttes
your uniquen\S . People who have srren61h ongmal thinking usually
dream up novel solutions. They produce clever ideas rather than
COlllmOIl or obous ones. They delight dUl1kmg and designing with
diferences, and they choose to fiblre thlllgs alit and express them in
new ways. If you could count the number of uncommon responses or
producti ons away from the usual, you could get a measure on how
original a person is.
Onglllal thlilkers tend t think of a new approach rarely thought of
by others. They use their capacities to combine pieces of the lISual ulto
new and unusual whole.
To build your strengths in original rhmkmg, play with the followlllg
exercises. Explore them in the next few wetK,and put a check mark by
each one afer you do it:
99
10
Par' 2: Gain tle Skills ofNatural Brillian(t
Piace objects i n the room off center, or explore asymmetry in
drawing and desigs.
Seek a fesh approach t a stereotyped answer.
Be diferent and have a new twist in thinking or behaving.
Enjo the unusual, and rebel agamst domg thmg the veveryone
else docs them.
Deviate fm othen to do things your own wy.
Figure oU[ your own new solution.
Invent a new wayt practice a tradition.
If the combination appeals to you, eat pickJes and peanut butter
together.
Play a major key with your lef hand and a minor key with your
right, sim1ltanCouoly~
Delete this list, andcreate one ofyoUT own.
Elaborat
Generative thinkers elaborate. They want to add to or elaborate on
ideas or productions. They live to stretch or expand on things. They
seck to embellish materials or solutions by making them elegant and
interesting. People who are elaborate in their thinkng may not be
originarors, but once they get hold of a new idea, they modIf or expand
it. IIyou could count the number of times a person senses something
lacking and adds details to improve it, you could determine how
elaborative a person u.
Here are suggestions for exercISIng your powers of elaborative
thinking.
P
lay with these exercises in the next few weeks, and put a
check mark by each one aeryou do it:
Add lines, colors, and details to your own or another persons
drawing.
Sense a deeper meaning to ar answer or solution by crumcrauy
detailed component.
Modif someone else's great idea.
Accept an idea or someone else's \ork, and "jazz it up."
Decorate something barn:n or plain into something autiflly fancy
Add dozens ofideas t this list.
The quality of responses that Dow fom a relaxed, a\n state of mind
may amaze you. Maintg a receptive and generative apprach mthe
way you think and behave when facing a problem will ensure you nuke
defnite stides i the directon of your goal.
Pllt YOllr Natllral Brilliallu to WorkforYo.
Beth decided to take a Job. Although it was not her fst choice for
furthering her career, she worked part-time doing customer service, data
enrry, and sluPPlllg for her husband' business. Beth rediscovered what
she wtme. She wa fast study. The pa-tme position allowed
for flexibility with her chIldren's school schedule, including sumlller
\"Guion. Witlun one year, she had built such confdence and personal
power, she ventured out IIltO the career of her choice-working in
homes andbusinesses as a professional artist. She called the woman at the
top her feld. Now, while Beth apprentces, she earns money as the
master's a lum.
Be Persistent: Stick to It and Keep On Keeping On
In the tr:llsitioll between the `tepoIIordand Witness, you need
to maintain an attitude of pCNistence. Without follow-through in your
behaviors, your actions fal! short of your desires. Without persistent
\vimcss, or vigibnce, you may miss al learg opportunities taking place.
For three yedn Patty tried to keep her relatonships comfortable and
successful. She chose to develop close pcrsonal relationships with men
many years older who were married and unhappy in their marriagt-.
The mcn loved the attemion they received from this young single
woman, s they created tme for her. [n her ol ton, these men seemed
safe because they were unable to make serious comminnent t her.
Noticing her pattern ofblIlg mand OUt of relatonships, Pattybegn
chOOSing to interact in new ways, outside of her comfort zone. She
adopted a receptive and generative approach to the way she faced her
problems and began acknowledgmg the price she was paying for
\"orkl g too hard on her c<n-cr. She rstmctured her job contract to ceate
more fe ume and trdvc\ time. She convinced the adtration to hire
a a ist to do the wrk she normally did unt 10 oclock at night.
With more free time to focus on creating a meaningful relationship,
Patty started dating in new ways. She mingled outside the workplace
with single, available men. She spoke her truth and stated what she
wanted clearly. When a man did not respond appropriately, she learned
how those ituations happened. She began d rentiating bet\en fear
in the other person and fault in herself, rather than shouldering all the
respomibility for communicating. She allowed herself to feel the natural
lIlsecurities of relatmg to her companions. With every phone conver
\aton and date, she grew in strength and personal courage.
101
102
P<rl Z: Guin tkrSkills ofNltural Brillianu
Patry took a nurturing view of all her successes and failures. She felt as
if she were stumbling aiong, learning to walk for the frst rime. Making
mistakes \ no longer a reason to re-iJ the humiliaton of junior high
school, or a time for self-castgation and self-doubt. She realized more
personal power t inOuence her min the positve dIrection of her b"Oa!
as she stepped up to her fean; and accepted not doing well.
"It's amazing to me," she exclamled. "how little permission [Q l I
gve myself at ft. If I had avoided meaningul relationships for twenty
years and had only dismal experiences to refer to before that, why hould
I expect immediate success?"
" \hen I st.rted to relax and play, the real learing I needed began
pouring into my life. Not all orit w great :u tht time, but i can see how
every step in my development has contributed to my happiness today."
Pmy fully used the steps of Respond and Witness to discover the
essential attitude for both is persistence. Persistence can be thought of as
having toelemenr- ourage and imabrnaton. With the t qualities,
you call persistcntly move in the direction of your goals and witness your
unfolding excellence in your successes and fiailures.
Take Risks uth Cart and Courage
Being courageous means doing something in spite of your fears. Of
course, we need to take risks cautiously, aer witnessmg thcir best and
worst possible results. This is where imagination comes in handy; it is a
terric vt uchances wi thout being foolhardy.
You Wil find courage inhernt mpersistence. Courageous risk-takers
wingly make guesses. They play on a hunch JUSt to sec where it Will
take them. Courageous people ignore failure and criticism to tackle
uncertain, unconventional, and unstructured situations and problems.
To develop your powers of courage and uke new strides in life, pl.y
with the following sugestions mthe next kweeks. Put a check mark
by each one afer you do It:
1e willingto defend your ideas regardless of what others think, even
if you knowyou !lIay be wrong.
Set high goals of accomplishment wIthout fear of going for theill.
Admit to a mistake.
Tell the tmmuntil you feel good.
Tackle the difcult tasks ufnt of yon.
Rach for somemmg newand ddculL
Let go ofwhat others might think or disapprove of about you.
Plt }llr Natural Brjffjan, to Hrk for You
Hold fast to your choices to succeed.
a chance or dto fnd oumore about yourself.
IrllaJ?ille
The imaginative person can conceptualize the inure as something
other than the past moved forward. With the power of your
Imagination, you can visualize and dream about thing that have never
happened to you. Puttng your imagination frst really is the only way to
proceed with the faith or hope of achieving success. Without
imaginaton, you doom yourself to tepeat nustakes. Perhaps \cu have
heard the pim,se "Where there is no vision, the people will perish."
Wntten cemunes ago, it speaks ever clearer as time gb. imagillatijf
m:on : lhc :k ullr rotr Nluml Brlal.
People with a strong imagination recognize the difference bet\vcen
fantasy and reality and usc it to their advant;!ge. Masters of alchemy, they
transform their ft."tc vision into fantastic reality.
Some ways to exercise the power of your imagination follow. I}lay
with these in the next few weeks, and put a check mark by each one
afer you do it:
TcU a story about a place oucan never visit.
inruiti\ely feel something that has not yet happened.
Predict what someone else has said or done without haVlng knovro
that person.
Go somewhere in your dreamswithout leaving the room.
Build imab'of thingyou have never seen.
See weird shapes in a picture or drawing that the artist probably
never intended.
Wonder about something that has never happened.
Make inannnate objects come alive.
Envision your fondest dreams come tme.
Final Notes
A you have seen, the Natural Orilliance modcl leads to contmuous
personal i mprovement. It guarantees you lifeong experiential learg.
The approaches suggested 1 thiS chapter have built-in safety checks;
Natural Brilliance goes by the maxim "Challenge by choice." Every
movement you make i n l creaCt feedback. If you push lnd your
capacity to learn, your feedback wpain yu and erect more stop sigs.
103
Once you forma vision that's highly
emotional, it takeson a lifeof its
own. You Lant turn it off even ifyou
Jose interest in thewholeprojed.
Peter Kline. Chairman ofte Board
of Integra Learning Systems
104
Hindsightis usuall20 . overight
is usualla mistake. andinsightis
alaysrevealing. Letlowithin.
put 2: Gaill til Skills ofNatural Brilliallu
Ifyou Staywmyourcapacity torelax, your feedback will intrigue you
and stir your curiosity and courage.
Healthy tension, ztermed tlslres (as opposed to distress), wll1ds It
way between boredom and anxiety toward optimal learmng. In that
strategic zone, where our Natural Urilhance flows in a state of relaxed
awareness, you can respond to your world, witness your efect, and live
your life to the fullest.
Maintain your higher purfor all that yu d. When you aWken
tomorrowmorning, ask yourself: "What do I rally want todayt' At the
end of your day, ask: .. [n what ways did I li\
'
e mlife on purpose?"
Stay on purpose for your highest good. In the chapters that follow, I
share four of the most powerful personal and professional developmellt
strategies l know: PhoroReading, Direct Learng, Creative Problem
solving. and the New Option Generator. Each of them rdies on yOlr
Natural Brilliance. Each technique takes you t a hlgherle\el appli
cation of the fourstcp Natural Unlliance modd. Use each oftheteps to
activate everythlllg you have learned so far. Begin choosmg how you
will brlllgyour genius ro fruition M yout m.
To close mchapter and Put 2 of th book. I offer you a bedtime
Story for your conscious mind, as well as a parable for your 101Ier \lund.
It's called "The Stretch Stitch."
Once upon a time there was a wise old seamstres whose
business had flourished for decades. She owned a large shop,
staffed by men and women young and young at heart. The m
ployees enjoyed a committed partnership of talents, knowledge,
and creative ideas.
One daanother bulllcOWller apprached the seanmnSS and
asked to what she attnbuted her success. She nplied, " Our succes
1b found 1 the I." on ofthe stTtch sutch."
"Most o! ourwork of j0111111g two pieces of fabric together
involves sewlIlg a straight stitch to fotlll a seam," the scamstress
explained. "Most of the time it holds just fne, but It can break
becau it ubrittle, rigid, and linear. If it breaks, it unravels. And
that would be a problem Tight here," she said br bbing the man's
sleevc and poiming to the scam between rhe sleeve and the
shoulder, "Your slee.. e would DTight to the foor, wouldnt It?
"At a place like this, this place called 'on the bias: we need
somcthmg different." Pointing her fnger into the vlmor's chest.
she added, "And you have a bias for succeeding III bliSlIlCSS, don't
Put \ur Natural Brilfiatut It Wrkfor \ou
you?" winking at the man.
The seamstS lowred her voice into a hoarse whisper to make
sure the man listened carefully, "The most remarkable sutch is a
simple one that takes t stches forard and one stitch back. It :s
both trong and Oexible-morc so than ally other. This stitch
teaches al who are ready t s1cceed."
She leaned forward with a mednl11gful gaze twinkling in her te
and continued, `^ you Willing to take a step back with every
few steps you rake forward? Nolice your progrl"SS. Learn from
when yOli have come and look to where you are going. YOLI wiU
soon develop remarkable personal strength and fexiblhty. With
these valuable resOl1rces you will uccecd in any l endeavor:'
105
Part Three
Apply Natural Brilliance
Activate the Natural Brilliance Model
Since starting thi book, how have you challenged yourselfto stretch
beyond your comfort zone? You cll rid yourselfof stop sigs that hold
Cerlaitl areas of your life in oscillation. You no longer need to be
confned by past fears. limitations. or stuck states. Perhaps while you
have been playing with these ideas, you have already pulled out a few
stop signs and enjoyed some IllUuediate benefts. If so, congratulations. If
not, perhaps you have been waiting [Q get the whole picture before
gOIug ahead. I 1Ilvite you to experience the many possibilicies open to
you now.
Part 3 bringathe pnnclples. steps. and attitudes ofNatural 1rilhance
together IInoa whole. I havesugestedpractcal applic;[onsall along, bm
now I am going to present formulas---ookbook-sryle recipes-that
anyone can Wto produce tangIble resu]s. Use these simple exercises to
change your unproducove patterns of behavior forever.
You WIll learn three new applications of Natural Brilliance: Direct
Learnmg, Resolving ParadOXIcal Problems, and the New Option
Generator. They offer step-by-step approaches to handling life-long
stuck s t ates. ^you experience these techniques of problem-solving and
personal development, you may fnd inunediate, sometimes inexplicable,
benefit emerging in your hfe.
Startingwith timchapter, Part 3 will prepare you to integrate Natural
Brilliance as an ongoing, spontaneous response to oscillation. Like a
transported Trekkie, your body-mind can beam you to your goals.
Instead of sloggmg around III problems when they arise, you can meet
them on the lugh road. Rather than oscillating in stuck sttes, you can
automatically trigger your deSired states of thinking, feeling, and
behavmg effectively enboagmg your Natural Brilliance.
Chapter 1 0 showcases the DIfct Learning process. Based on the
I ama very driven person, so when
I first started dOing relaxationl
stress management, I was
concerned that being stress free
would take frommy power, my
drive in life. I would say 'I need my
stress to motivate me: However, an
interesting thing happened one
evening. I hadjust bought a
Mercedesand I got back to find it
broken in to, my Christmas
presents stolen, and its side
scratched. Instead ofjumping up
and downand screaming my head
ott I said to myseHIn a calmb
reponsible voice'I will have to take
the car to the garagetomorrow
and get it fixed: It was amazing! I
kept all of my ability to respond to
the situation, but lostthe
unnecessary stressthat I usedto
experience.
Paul McKenna, Ph.D.
Hypnotist, TVstar
England
108
T sixaudio tpesand
manual oftheNatura/ Brilliance
PerIanal LearingCoomIpy
eficientlylearandappythe4-step
m ona deep. inMrlv. You
mayfndthisselfstudcoursean
easierwayt lear.
Pdrtkipatingin t retatensures
you leamthe model cognitively,
emotionally. andbehavioally. You
wili leamthroughdssessions,
spialfxMhigh-tedl leaming
tool$. music andParlminal leaming
sessions.
Call myofficeatLearingStratpgies
Corporaton forinformation.
Parr J:Apl/Y Natural Brilliallu
PhotoReading whole mind system, Direct Learning goes beyond
PhotoRcading to activate new knowledge and skills directly into your
behavior. Chapter 1 1 teaches you howto resolve Paradoxical Problems.
It Introduces the Creative Problem-Solving process so that you direct
your energies to solving the correct problem.
Chapter 12 present the culnunaton of the Natural Brilliance book.
It guides you through seven exercises that combine Release, Notice.
Respond, Wimess, and every other concept of this book. The New
Option Generaor already has produced power-packed results for
thousands of people. Watch out! This process has the potential to
transform your stuck state and your life. In Chapters 13 and 14 we
conclude the book with how to stay on track to your goals.
The best w to experience Part 3 is to identifa specifc problemthat
has plagued you. Then as you lear. you can also achLeve a
breakthrough. Is there a stuck state tOobig? I think nor. The Natuidl
Brilliance model shows you ho... to educate yourselfusing your "beSl
teacher"-experience.
If we seek the miracles ofthe universe, we have tO welcome them
when tht:y manifst. Let me illustr,lte with stories of t women I know.
Open to Greater Possibilities
Despite the medical impossibility, Andrea Fisher recovered from a
spinal injUry that had lef her quadriplegic. Her spme and spinal column
had been crshedin an automobile accident. She had spemthree months
in a COUla and threeyears in hospital paralyzed. Then one dayshe stood
up next to her bed. Nowshe wk well and leads a normal life.
Neurological specialist fmaover the world have studied her case.
She has been invited to address international congrcssl on neurology.
The conclusion of the medical profession: her recoveryw nuraculous.
Norhing in their science could fully explam the transformation in
Andrea's neural anatomy.
The neurologist originally assigned to her case at the hospital has SUlce
left the practice ofneurology to study alternative healing methods.
Because his medical model could not account for what he had
witnessed, he decided to arch for a systemofhealing that could.
Andrea said to me, " You know, Paul, my recoverywas not a 1l11rade at
a. It w no more a miracle than our hearts beating or our talking to
each other. I cali tell you exactly what I did to recover. I can describe
ActivI th Natural Brillianu fdtl
e\"rydetail. I re-educated mysclfmemally, emotlona11y, and physically. I
can Tell you every therapeutic procedure I performed. But, not many
people are ready to hear about it or do what it takes to get vell."
Both Andrea and her neurologist openly explored how to usc the
enormous possibilit l " S available to us .The mexperience of another
remarkable woman,jane Danielson, present a slightly different message.
I met Janeforthe frst time when she attended an in-service training I
was delivering to crisis hotlinc counselors. Pale and stiff then, she was
wcaring a T-shaped metal brace across her back and neck. Chronic pai n
had handicapped her like a vice since an auto accident fourteen years
earher. She had tried e .. ery imaginable physical and surgical remedy. Six
spinal fusion operations had lef her back and neck rigid as a concrete
pOSt, throbbing mercilessly. jane could only look straight ahead; if she
wanted to look behind her, she had to tur her whole body.
Then she auended a work\hop gi.. en by Moshe Feldenkrais. famous
for hiS bio-mechanical approach 10 physical therapy. Jane managed to
arrange a private session with Moshe following the conference. At the
beginning of the briefsession, Dr. Feldenkrais askedJane to remove her
brace. He walked his fingers up and down her spine once. Jane was stll
expecting a sigcant intervention when he told her, "Tur your head
from side to side." She did!-an impossibility, given her spinal fusion
operations. Pointing to the neck brace, all he said to her was, "And
throwthat dm tlung awa!" That w in 1980. To mdayjane easily
swivels her head.
Jane went to her doctor's ofce to show him what she could do. ^
she emered,jane proudly announced, "Look what I can do!" and turned
her head fom side to side. But her neurologistscolded her sharply. "You
can't do that!"
"What do you mean?" jane said. "Look'" and she turned her
head again.
"I did the surgery 011 you," he said, grufy poking his mdex finger
111[0 her sternum. "You can't do that!" He then turntd briskly and
Iamlled the door behind him. Jane never returned to his clinic.
Jane's story emphasizes an imponant poim about integrating the
Natural Brilliance model: \ mustSty open to possibilities. Andrea and
Jane both instinctively understood and behaved consistent with the
Natural Brilliance Illodel of learning. The diametrical reactions from
Andrea

sneurologist andJane's neurologist showonly one doctor willing

to witness genius.
109
110 Hu. J: Apply Nu/ural BrilliallU
With the NarBrilliance model, we learfrom our experience. If
we want to learn the mmccof the uillverse, we have to ready ourseh L
to receive them.
I mvite you to consider, in the next fewsections of this chapter. how
the seemingy miraculous changlS I have been promoting can occur 1
your hfe. You have the foUowing capacitiew!th which to knock down
your StOP signs and transform your possibilities into the results you
desire:
Your other-than-conscious mmd and the prconSCIOLIS processor
NOllconscious acquisition oflIlormaoon
Newly discovered pathways to the inner Illind
I:puc:r memory
Nowthat you have read the list ofthe wonders you already possess, I
want to lay out the new procedures I have designed for YOLL to acti\'te
the full power ofyour Namra! Brilliance.
Use the Other-Than-Conscious Mi nd and
Preconscious Processor
Do you knowwho you really are? You arc a hvmg. feehng, dunking.
learningbeing. By every measure, you are magmfcem! You ha\at your
disposal twO remarkable tools. at once unbelievably complex and
patently simple-your ollirr-lhau-{OllSnOlls milld and your prIoPlrious
prrssor. The arural Bnlliance model suggests an Ideal approach to
using themto )'Our inunedlate beneft.
The otherthan-conscious part ofour brain processes information and
Stores memory. Accoto educational psychologist Dr. Win Wenger.
its d1tabase outweighs chat ofthe conSCIOus nund by ten bil on to one.
The pathway into thiS phenomenal capacity ofmmd is called the
preconscious processor. Many tinws faster than the conscious mind, the
preconscious processor continually scans bllhons of bits of data,
determiningwhatis imporullt and what is not. When It notes something
important, it immediatelysigals the consciollS mind to pay attention.
/you alreadyhavean mher-than-conscious mmd and a preconscIous
processor and you still have problems, the question remalllS, how can
you use them to beneft your daiy life? Using the PhowRcadllg whole
!lu!ld system for Direct Learning will provide you with a powerful
answer to that question. In 1986, I developed the Photol.radlllgcourse
to effectuse these t capacities of nllnd and solved huge problem
Actitlt tilt Nall/ral BrillilHtuModel
for people trapped b mfOrl1.1tion overload.
With PhotoRadlllg you can mentally photograph the written page
faster than a page a second. Now, Photo Readers worldWide
comprehendand retain information in a faction of the nme they used [0
spend regular re;dll1g. The power of the human mind demonstrated
with PhowRadl g has inspired many graduates of rhe program to ask,
" If! can PhotoRcad, what else can I do?"
Over the years of \vatching people learabout their great capacmes, I
realized that the personal development opportunities for PhotoRcaders
go far beyondprocessingwritten mformatioll efciently. Photolleading
and Direct Learing awaken us to rhe v;lSt abilities of mind. At frst we
blink into the light. Theil we begin to see we do not have to wait for
authority or approval. On our own, we can releasc, notice. respond, :lld
witness the Natural Brilliance we already possess.
Acquire Information and Skills Nonconsciously
According to research done at the cognitive laboratory at Tulsa
University, the human brain can acqUIre IIlformarion and skills
noncollsciousiy.
The work done by Dr. P;wei LeWicki suggests that the human
cognitive system nonconsciously detect and processes infrmation. His
studies over the past decade provide evidence that subjects in
experimenthave no aCCLto the newlyacquiredprocedural knowledge
and no Idea that they have leared anytiling fm the stimulus material,
even though the newly acqUIred knowledge conSIStently gUides
thclT behavior.
Dr. LewlCkt has also determined that rn preconscious processing,
the inner mllld IS "lIlcomparably more able to process complex
knowledge faster and 'smarter' overall than our ability to think and
Identifmeanings of stimuli consciously."
In a joural arucle, he wrote, "Most ofthe 'real work; both in the
acquisition of cognitive procedures and skills and in the execution of
cognitive operations, is being done at the level to which our
consciousness has no access. The sophistication and speed of this inner
processll1g far exceed what can even be approached by our consciously
contolled thinking."
Evcn more provocative is his conclusion. 'The 'responsibihty' ofthiS
inacceSSible level of our mental functiol111g is more than routine
I I I
112
Part J: Apply Natwroi B,ilIimu
operations such as retrieving information frm memory and adjusting
the level of arousaL I t is directly involved in the development of
interpretive categories. drawmg inferences, determining emotional
acrions, and other high-level cognitive operations."
Dr. LewICki's work Indicates [Q me that using nonconscious
acquiSition of Information promises our best opportunites to change
and grow. In Chapter 10, l present a new breakthrough technique for
self-development combining PhotoReading with Direct Learning t
activate your inner wisdom.
PhocoReading massive amounts of information helps the inner mind
notice new options. Activation with Direct Leanung prides a way to
respond without tryillg to respond differently. Because Direct Learing
changes behavior without your cOllScious intervention to change
yOUT behavior, it breaks the cycle of your paradoxical problems. :he
change occurs indirectly from inner wisdom working beyond co

)scous
logic to solve your problems. I t is paradoxically perfect and Ideally
suited to your life.
Discover New Pathways into the Body-Mind
Supportive evidence for the breakthroughs of Photo Reading and
Direct Learning came from Photo Reader Dr. Izzy Katzef, a senior
lecturer of neurophysiology at the Univrit of Johannesburg in South
Mrica. Whil e he was rcco\'ering from a stroke, he made a remarkable
personal discovery. His stroke had created a lesion in his primary vsua!
cortex ( 1), resulting in posterior Illo:il. He could suTwrite, but he could
not read. Although he could not comprehend written material, he could
readily recognize words spelled aloud or words spel1ed on the paint
ofrus hand.
After tWO and a half frustrating months when he could not even
recognize any printed letters of the alphabet, he turned to
PhotoR.eading. Instandy he began to read and comprehend what he had
Photolead. Ecstatic, he called me [0 report that after Photoading fve
books, he could once agam read ma regular manner.
"The only vthiS is possible," he said, "i s if we gsome ttruru
pllllway that bypassts tht primary visl4tl (oT/ex. This p
,
roves It, and t
demonstrte that Photoll.ading is the \ay to access trus pathway. TIllS
is exactly what you have said all along treferring to the preconscious
processor and the otJll-tlan-lollscioIIS mind. This cement it, because I have
Al/il1llt tht Ni/urti Brillilnu Modtl
a phYSlcal lcslon and there M no way I can consciously pereeive the page
without a bypass. PhotoRcading makes it pOSSible."
About si.x months later I got another excited call from Izzy "I JUSt
read an article i a Joural of neurolO that proves my hypothesis, Paul.
The article shows chmcal research that demonstrates conscious
perception of in for mati 011 i s possible without the primary visual cortex.
They have located the \'ery pathway we were t.1 lking abom."
I went to the biomedical library at the University of Minnesot.1. Sure
enough. the article "Conscious Visual Perception without Nl by
U!Uwrsity T"Slhcrs Barbur, Watson, Frackowiak, and Zeki In London
Te\'eals ground-breaking research ofbr.in lesion studies. The authors
submit, in the journal Bmill, that neural pathways exist that scientists had
not pn."iolisly recognized. Izzy was right! We had already been teaclullg
the PhotoReadillg whole mind system based on that hypothesis eight
years before the research was available with a neurological explanation.
In other words, more pathways connect your br to behavior than
most of your teachers ever imagined or encouraged yotl to access.
However, in order to account for Direct Learing, we still need an
explanation for 1r014 we route Information to the brain to get new
tchaviOrs otIt. all without conscious involvement. Here again, Dr. Izzy
Kaneff pOinted the \y.
In the early 1950s. Dr. Brenda Ncrcollaborated with Dr. Wilder
Penfeld on studying Penfeld
's brain lesion patients frm the 19-05.
Milner discovered that human memory Involves multiple memory
systems. She wanted to account for how a stroke patient could learn a
task one day and by the next day forget having ever done the task.
Somehow the patient would still retain the learmng, building skills WIth
the task o\'er successive d1YS. Her studies led to the distnction betwen
imp/lot and tp/i ci/ memory.
Your body-mind comes fully equipped for Implicit memory, which
byp
.
l es the conscious llIind altogcther. You already have dIe "wetware"
programmed to express the benefits of implicit' learning, as evidenced by
PhotoRad1l1g and Direct Learning.
Does it bother you that you were bor with all these remarkable
abilities, yet no one ever told you how to use them? Dr. Norman
Dixon, reured professor from the University College in London,
heralded our human potential in the early 1970s. His book, entitled
Subliminal Pccelions:T Nature o a COlro'y, shook the academIC and
psychological commulllty.
113
114
ParI J: Apply Narural Brillillu
In Dixon's words, "If the hypothesis that people can be afected by
stmuli ofwhichthey cannot be aware is valid, then it has p\found Lmpli
cations not only for the psychoph)liiolO'of memo!perception, emo
ton, motvaton, anddbut for the nature ofconsciousness Iself
.
'
The evidence hbeen mounnng chat humans hae unlimited mental
capacity. Stil, Dr. Dixon told me m our conversations about lInpilclt
learmng, the academic community remains firmly unconvinced. For
certain, successful pCf50nai experiences i impiit learg wi ll prove to
your conscious mind that your brain already posscsst" the capacities I
have been describing. J designed the Natur.l Brilliance model for you so
you can be your own best tcacher. Now more than evcr, like Andrea and
Jane, you can uindependent steps to fll your mwith the learlllg
you desire.
Do It!
In the next chapter I present howto use Photoll.cading and DIrect
Learmng to acquire the knowledge and skills you need for powemli lift
change. Plan to do the teChlllques d outlined, because, most likely, your
own results will be yo1greatest convincers. Do it and witness the resultS
you produce.
Leap Over Performance Barriers
with Direct Learning
"Take two giant steps and leap."
"Captain, may ``
now, I would assure you Yes, you may!"
.
.
Remember that game from your childhood? If we played the b>me

The n ^ o giant steps I refer to are the two learning processes I have
.

.
.

developed: Photo Reading, to input information faster than a page a

second; and Direct Learning, to transmute intrinsic learing imo new
' Qi
behaviors and impved skills aligncd with your life purpose. The leap I
refer to is the quantumleap toward your goals you can enjoy right away.
Direct Learning involves Photo Reading several books on a single
topic and having the benefts of the information tanslate directly into
new behaviors and imprved skills. Direct Learning bypasses the need
for consciously actlvallng the knowledge fromthe texts through
cognitive channels. I shall take you through the five steps of the
PhotoRcading whole mind systemas a prerequisite of Direct Learning.
If you are not currently a PhotoReader, read the next section of this
chapter to understand how it works. Then, at least spend an evening
with my book, JrP,% Readilg H:clr Mild System, to develop your
skill a PhotoReader.
Learn How to Photo Read
Photo Reading is a breakthrough technology for prcesslIlg written
IIlformation. People around the worldare using it to access their atural
Brilliance. With the PhotoRcading whole mind system, you can lea
what you need from any written materials in a faction of the time it
would normally tke you.
YOl can transform your reading from procedures into creative new
options. Release your geulUs in fve easy steps: Prepare, Preview,
YOcanlearthe entire
PhotoReadingwholemindstem
in more detail in publicseminars
oferedworldwide from
instructors certifiedbyLearing
Strategies Corporation. T
PotoRHdingPersonal Learing
COm>, a seff-studyversion ofthe
course, teaches the entiresyttem,
step-by-stepwiththe convenience
ofaudiocassettelearing.
118
4
Part J:Apply Nafural B,illiaN(t
Follow d,e PI,otoRtadirlg Pr~dM
Here are the six components of PhotoRcadillg, the third step of the
PhotoReading whole mind system. Follow this procedure, and you will
mentally photogrph written pages at rates exceeding a page a second.
Prtpan
Before bcgmnlllg to Photo Read (or rebruiar read), always state
your purpose. Clearly state to yourself what you expect to get
from the materials.
E,,(tr Accelerati,l utmling Stall
By the procedure of [tuee to one, enter the resource level: a
relaxed state of alertness for learg.
Affirm CotePltratiotl, Impact, and Outcome
Give yourself a series of positive afrmations that will direct the
material you Photo Read toyour mner mind and ensure it has the
impact you desire. For example:
"A I PhotoRead, nq concentation is absolute."
^ that I PhmoR.ead makes a lasting impression on my inner
mind and is avaibble to me."
"I desire the infornmion in this book. (st3te the title ofthe book
to yourself) to accomplish my goal of (state your purpose for
readmg this book).
EstOblisl1 PllotoFocus Swu
Bring your point of awareness to a pbce a few inches above and
behind your head. To accomplish this, imagine the feeling of a
tangerine resting on the hack of your head.
As yu open your eyes, relax your visioll and look right through
the center of the book. Nmice the four corners of the book as
well as the space between the paragraphs. Comfortably focus
your eyes beyond the book until you see the "blip" page or
"cocktail weenic" page.
Mai"wi" O Suady l"ttrnai StOtt
Turn your attention to your deep, even breathing. Turn the pages
of the book before your eyes in a steady rhythm. Chant to the
rhythm of your page-turning by mentally repeatng:
'Re-lax ... Re-lax. Four-Three-Two-One.
Re-lax ... Re-lax. Keep the state ... See the pab>"
uap 01' p q tn~Barritrs u-tll Diua uarn;nl
Clou
Afrm your mastery of the matenal you have just PhotoRead:
"I acknowledge feeling evoked by this experience and allow
my inner mind and body t process them. I'm curious about how
many WI'll nouce thi s information supports me."
Invite the conscious mind to let go while your inner mind
processes that you have PhowRead.
There you have it. To PhotoRcad: prepare, enter, afrm. Photo
Focus, maintain state, and close. The part that are probably missing for
you are the components of "enter" and 'PhotoFocus." Both of these
concepts were partially explained earher III this book. Entering the
resource level is the state of relaxed alertness described in Chapter 4:
Release (Sec section subtitled "Deep Relaxation"). I emphasize giving
yourself the three-two-one sigal to Iac itatc cinto tS state in {he
fUNre. The Photo Focus SLle described as "second sight" in Chapter
5: Notice (Se section subtitled "Enhancing the Visual Sense").
[ invite YOLI to PhotoRad this book now if you have not already done
so. PhotoReading offers many benefts. It will make the book easy to
read and comprehend, and most importantly, suPPOrt your activation of
all the sk s you desire to gain.
lakt M NoltAbout Actilltiotl atld Rapid RtOdirtg
The next step of the PhotoReading whole mind system i s Activation.
Activation purposefully and actively connects the conscious mind to me
vast database you have created at an inner [evel by PhotoReadi ng. Doing
so gives you the comprehension you need in the time you have available,
effectlvdy fulfilling your purpose for reading. The major techniques of
Actlvariou include Mind Probing, Super Readmg, Dipping. and Mind
Mapping. All im'ol"e conscIOusly imer.ctng \vith the physical text you
have ['hotoRead.
The last step, Rapid Reading, involves startlllg at the first page and
moving at whatever speed bL'St fts your needs at the tme. It represents
the highest level of effective reading because the mOSt skilled reader
vaTles the speed nexibly over a broad range, depending on the
complexty of the inform.ation and the purpose.
Direct Learnmg does not rely on COnsCIOUS Activation or Rapid
Reading; Direct Learing represents a unique new form of Activation.
[n the sections that follow you \U learn how to usc :Ifor your personal
benefr. You call achIeve r
.
'Sults fom Direct Learning even if you are a
119
I love owning books, because
sometimes in the middle of the
night I'll wake up interestedin a
subject. Then I'll rush down to my
basement, pull out the twenty or so
books I've collected on that subject,
PhotoRead all of them, and read
some parts of some of themvery
carefully. frthen on I'll feel a
powerful ownership ofthat subject.
O t yearsofPhotoBook
Collecting. I'Vdiscoed thatall
s exceptunetical
interestMrm a at howm
highlytK ~I u
t es e o in tisWif.
Peter Kline, Chairman ofthe Board
Integra learning Systems
120
Itwas immediately dear tome tkat
PhotoReading is not just a way to
read more, faster--it is wayto live
your life with purpose and f(Kus.
using your whole mind to realize
your unlimitpotential. Using
PhotoReading forDirectlearning. I
have experienced and sustained
unimagined heights of personal
satisfaction and fulfillment. Even
more than a process, however,
Natural Brilliance is a
transformational attitude and
approach to lifl.
Deborah Fink. ML
Metalearning Boulder, Colorado
Jarr J:Ap/ly Nnumd Brillilfu
beginlllng Photo Reader. You do need to develop the easy kill of
relaxngyour visionas you fp pages before your eyes and to llluster a bit
of truSt thal your other-thall-conscious mind is pcrforllllg even when
yOll arc conscIOusly unaware ofit activity.
You maynot knowthatyouare PhotoR.eadmgcorrectlyat mpomt.
I recommend that you "Just do It." Trust your UHler nlllld to do the
work for you, whether or not your conscious mUld knows how the
learin occurs. There arc ways ofknowing that y\: are PhotoRcadlllg
correctly. Reading my book, 71t PltoReadj" I l/lOlr Mi"d 5ystell, can
help you. Certainly the PIlofORe"dlflg Peonal / Imiug COUrt can coach
you to perform the steps effectively. Ideally, take the PhoroReading
course fom all mstructor certified by Learmng Srtehres Corpoftion.
Nothing beats an experienced gUIde.
At this point, 1 will assume you are set to proceed with Direct
Learing activatioll. Ready for a miracle?
Discover Direct learning
Many I'hotoReading graduates report havlllg spolltalltollsly
impoved their skill tennis. golf, racquetball, piano playing. time
management, publiC speaking. to name a few. I nvariably, they
demonstrate improvements after Syntopic Rcadlllg, a process r the
PhoroRcadmgcourse that tcacht' how to Photolad and Activate three
to fve books dunng a single exercise.
To explore the benefts of Syntopic Reading and Acnvation, ChriS
Sedcole, of New Zealand, created an exercise for a group ofexecuti\!s.
He directed thent to Photolad five books on an area of personal or
professional de\'elopment-thretbooks dllectly related to the topIC, tWO
indirectly. For example, one parnclpam who wanted to unprove time
management skills selected three books 01 time management, one on
improvlllg business communications, and one on delegation.
In the final step oftlle technique, Chrisled [he clients to imagine a tulle
i n the future when they had already integrated their desired new
behaiors.
One month later in a follow-up session, Chris mquired if they had
noticed anything in their behavior related to the exercise. Without
exception, the clients reported they had experienced changes for the
better. CUriously, they also Slid they had made no conscious attempl
to improve.
Ltap O,lt, Ptgo",wnu Barritn urth Dirta Lta,ning
Photolading reqUIres that you specif your purpose. For D,rect
Learing. select books that have ideas you have a strong personal desire
to lear. Each book represent the author's reading of many books.
Thmk of the combinl- years of experience you have access to when you
PhotoRead 6 e books on zsmgle topic. teach book represents several
yea of the author's knowledge and skills and the essl'ntal ideas from
twenty books. think what yOll are downloadll1g IIltO your neural
Circuitry. Direct Learmng i like spending decades consulting with
masters who support you in achieving the results you desire.
Unless you notice different choices available to you, you cannot
respond diferenty. The more beneficial choices yu have to select fom,
the more accurate a response you can make. By PhotoRcading several
books 011 a siugk subject. you can influence a change in the right
direction, because your other-than-conscious mind can perceive new
paths that your conscious mind, with its fters ;nd limittions. cannot.
When you mpllt c nna knowledge that distmgui shes expl'rt /om
an bcgulTler, you open yourself to Acnvanng new patterns of success,
Activate Direct learning
For Direct Learning to most effective, you must know what new
behaviors you desire. The more specifc you can be. the better this
process will work. Ollce you have chosen your goal. select several books
that speak authoritatively about the subject. It is Important that these
books not be theoretical. Choose practical, how-to books that teach the
new behaviors you ,m.
I reconunend you select books that approach the skills you want fom
multiple angles. For example, If you 'llt to Improve your close personal
relatIOnships, select three books that deal directly with inlimate
relatlOnsllips or communications and twO or three that approach the
issue metaphorically. A book on creativity with a problem-solvlllg
approach might open you to communicating IIlsightfully. You might
select a book on hypnotism to gain insight UltO how your language is
progralllllllllg the results yOll are getting from others, or a book on
buildmg self-teem to IInpl'( your appreciation of yourself and mhers.
You might choose a book on fnancial management. Why? Maybe
cOllullunicating eff ectively is like in\sring for the fumre. What should
you know abollC making sound investment decisions that applies to your
intimate relationsrups?
121
122 Part J:Appl) Natural U,iIIianct
After selecting your hooks, PhoroRead them. Remember [Q state
your purpose clearly before each book and to say a solid closing
afrmatIon afer each one. It maybe a good idea [Q take a brief stretch or
drink some water between books. Allow yourselfw remain antered
and relaxed throughout the process. (fsomethinghappens [ distract you
between books, Ua fewmomentto get back into statc.
The next step i s the Dirt"[ Learning Activation stage. The informa
tion will be activated spontaneously in the appropriate contexts only
afer you direct your inner mind to generate the behaviors. Remember
how you imagined doing things as a child? You called it "Playillg
cIcnd` Gestalt therapists caU it "PalgAs J" See a mental simuiatJon
ofthc future. which encodes the brain with the necesinformanon to
give rise to the behaviors according to your needs.
FoUow the simple procedure outlined below to put in place thc new
behaviors you desire. If you like, record the component steps on to an
audio tape so you can perform rhem with your eyes closed.
Sit back in a comfortable posicon with your feet resting on the
foor and your hands resting gently on your lap without your
thumbs touching each other. Become aware ofyour deep even
breathing, and set aside this time as your time for integrating the
benefcial new behaviors and choices you desire, to achieve lhe
resultthaI important to you.
Using the followingprocedure, enter the resource level of mind.
Take a deep breath . . . . Hold it for a moment . . . . As you slowly
exhale, close your eyes. Think of the number J, and lllcnlaUy
repeat the word Relax. Imagine a wave of relaxation flowmg
downward throughout your entre body, fTomthe top pan of your
head down to the soles of your feet.
You can let this wave fowdownward wmtimes if need be, You
are in charge. Any time you desire to relax as deep or deeper than
now, you can do so by thinking ofyour physical relaxation signal.
the number Jand the word Relax. You are in charge of your
physical nUon.
{P,,,,,}
Take another deep brtath... .old it a moment .... Slowly exhale,
think oflhe number Z, andmentally repeat the word Rla '. Let go
ofthought about the past or fumre, focus your awreness on the
present moment 1tIIne, right here, right now.
1 1) ..1
!ap 0, PNjormanct Barrius with Dirul !Qrning
With each breath you breathe, let gmore and relax even deeper.
Imagine your consciousness expanding IltO this preselll moment.
Whenever you dt'irc to relaxas deep or deeper than now, you can
do so by thinking of the number Zand mentally repeating the
\ ^ om!m.
{ Pause}
Tke another deep breath . . . . Hold iI for a moment . . . . Slowly
exhale, mentally hear [he sound of the number 1, and imagine a
beautinll plant or fower.
{ Pause}
TillS is a signal indicating that you have focused your awareness
within, to this accelerated learng stale. Here you have access to
an expanded level ofcreativity and perceptual ability. You an in
contact \th the abundalll resources of your inner mind.
Imagme yourself relaxing i a beautifl qUiet scene, as if you were
slttmg or lying back in a peaceful place, relaxng, and enjoying this
tne of comfon.
{Pause}
Imagine that you can perceive yourself on your life's timeiinc.
Your past extends in one direction, perhaps to the left or behind
you. And i n another direction your future extends before you,
perhaps toyour right. How.. -er you perceive your timeline is fne
for you. Simply lI11agllle the present moment. Where you are
right nowis the present. And you can comfonably glance into the
past and or ill(o the future fromwhere you are now.
Contnue to use your creauve imagination now as you foat gently
up over your tlmelme, way up over it to gain new perspective.
Imagine you can see your life's path far below. Back there Inyour
paSt you can lmagme the events leading up to the present situation
of your life. And extending another way is your flturC, bright and
fi,ll of possibi lities.
Imagine foating Out mto the fture. over the furure part of your
tillleline. Go all the way out over the time when you are
successflly achlevmg the results yOli had specifed. Uelow you
there in your hfe, yti are enjoying the success yt desire and can
use a the new behaviors you need to accomplish the results you
have chosen.
J23
124
Part J: Apply Nlfutil BrillitHlU
At a rate that is comfortable for you, imagine drifting gently
downward onto your timd\lc and into your own body,
experencing the new behaviors that help you.
{Pause}
Feci how good it reds to enjoy the success of your
accomphshment. Sec thmugh your oii eyes the success you had
desired 10W as a reah[ In your I)fe. What go thmg do you say
to yourself with your own inner dialo_me? How do you walk,
wh:l. docs success feel 1ikc in your head, shoulders, and body as
yOll enjoy your success?
You can look back to the path that brought you to this poim of
success and accolllplihllent in your hfe. Imagmc cv or three of
the signifcant events that have kd t your achIevement. If you
like, Ooat gendy up over your timl'iine to get an even better
Qcrpccnvc on the path you selected to accomphshlllg your b>ais.
otice the signifcam e\nt, your successm responses, and the
power and motivation you displayed to have adue\ed the rc5ults
you had desired.
{Pause}
Take your tme to make a the reahzarions yu need and solidIf
)the learning that ensunS your success.
{ Pallse}
When you feel complete Wmyour imagininq foat back to the
present moment f rune and back illto your qUIet place. Take a
few moments to enJOY Uthe posi:ive and comtructve Ideas fm
your own imagHat on and from rhe books that you have
Photo Read. beconung fully integrated. automatically and
spontaneously available (0 you In all the appropnate settings,
whenever you wn or need them.
Feel yourself let go for few moments, as a the Ideas and new
behaviors of your choosing integrate so that they become fully
available, just as you need them to be.
{Pause}
When you are ready, bring your attention fom your quiet plac

to
an outwardly directed state of awareness by mentally countlng
forward frm 1 to J. At the Iat number@ open your eyes and
retur. refeshed. revitalized, and fcelg good.
LJp Ol'r l'trjo,manu BarritrJ Irilh Dirut uD".ing
You can use this process after PhotoReading and afer activatingbooks
consciously as weII. We choose not to activate books consciously in the
Direct Learg technique buause the conscious mind imereres. Most
people in our culture ha"t been raised by the "Puritan Work Ethic,"
which means "You must work hard to aLhieve rewards." In athletics w
say "No pain. 10 gain." Direct Learning chaIlengs traditional
umpOions by demonstrating the inner mind can provide a "path of
least resi stance" to our success. ^livng life efortlessly is a real human
option for the frst time mhistor, why not do :::
Keep It Simple
I.ealizing how easy Direct Learning is and how much benefit it
brinf, 'S, you may \ onder why most people never do it. Unfortunately, it
is so deceptively silllple that mOSt people never even consider trying it.
In fact, I had to be convinced myself. Only after the reports of
PholOReadll1g sraduates did I purposefully choose this powerful
:echrique for my own beneft.
To review the :rcct Learning process, think of rhe simple phrase,
|tutdcI uuttI`` When you can answer that question with clarity, you
are nady weUon yourway to accomp!1smngyour desin. The next step
IS to PhotoRead a stack of books that encourage the use of the skills yu
need. Finally, automarically generate the new behaviors you need by
visualizing your future success. Imagine yourselfnow in the future, in
the moment of enjoingme accomplishmellt of your goal.
Thmughout the inct Learning process, you can see the four steps of
Natural Brilliance repeating. Each cycle brings you to greater release,
greater choice, greater power to respond, and higher levels ofwitness.
When you realize the II1ner mind IS your ally in personal and
professiona1 dLelopment, you can g to ask. "\bat else is nqmind
capable of doing?` Tt inner mind ua pn:verbal mind. Like a genie, it
communicates through behaviors and imagery. If you ask it to help, it
wildemOlltrate what wonders it can do for you.
When my frst son Ben was ten months old, he could toddle, but he
couldn't myet. My wLIbbyand I attended a support group for 6rst
tune pannts, where we heard a story from another couple. They said
they had asked their baby daughter to foIlow a complex set of
Instructons. to which she had responded perfectly.
Tht ne)day, Libby said, "Ben, v you go over to those shoes and
125
Frustrated at my tack of success at
getting PhotoReading started in
Brazil, I finally decided to
experiment with Direct learning. I
had heard about the results; I even
encouraged my studentto use it;
but I had never used it. I went to a
library, spotted 30 books related to
success, and PhotoRead all ofthem.
My purpose was to become
successful teaching PhotoReading.
Afterwweiks I noticed changes.
I was much more positive about
myself and my capabilities. In my
course that month I had twenty
enrollmentwith more enrolledfor
the next month's course. In one
wee! I received telephone calls
fromthree people interested in
sponsoring me in three different
states. Afterwmonths all my
available dateswerefilledfor the
secondsemester. NowI havea
clear picture of what I have to do
to keep this process working for
me successfully.
Huaras Duarte,
Brazil
126 P.w J: Apply Nafmd BrilliaPlu
bring Momma her slippers?" Bell stood lip and toddled over to the Other
cnd of the bedroom. He picked out the dippers from a row ofi.: p:lirs
and happily carried them back to her. "Amazing!" Libby and I looked at
each other in shock and said. "Hey! We had never thought to ask!"
If our child were toO young to speak, we reasoned that he was tOO
young to comphend complex Ideas or carry out complex cOlllmands.
How wrong we were. The following day I started him emptying the
garbage and mowing the lawn. Just kidding.
The educator EricJcnsen wrotc in his book O|o1ahn_ "Everyone
has genll1s capacity. It IS the context that determines the evidence."
That sunuit up. The inner mind needs dear request and the Impetus to
act. Given the proper context. it will prove that you have abIlities
for gemus. Do not be fooled by appearances. You have a preverbal
ally. waiting to help.
Find Evidence of Success
You may ask, "How WIll i know I am domg thIS nght? How WIll [
know it's working? Immediately afer the techn.ique. I will feci good but
has ;mything changed?"
Paradoxically, if every day you ask youTSelf. ` I it working yet?" you
will never notice a shIf. If you pull up a sccdlllg every dJy to see If It IS
growing, w it grow?
The changes you make .wlth Direct Learning run deep. With DIrect
Learing you infuence the Ullconscious control processes which dIrect
your habitual behavior. UeC:tU$e the changt- mtegrate at an othcr-than
conscious levei, at ft they may be so subtle that you may tlunk nothl11g
has changed.
One way to witneSS thf effects of DIrect Lfarmng IS to live life
normally and notce any mdlcators of movement 111 the direction of your
goal. Enhance your witness perspective through feedback fom others.
Those who know you \ell wll see changes in you before you notice
them 111 yourself.
Trust Your Inner Mind
Fear sets up the biggest stop SIgns of all. Some people are leery of
letting go of their critical-judging mind. If they cannot make change
happen by conscious volition and willpower. they consider it too risky to
entruSt to the inner mind. But. when you distrust your mind. you
distrust yourself. Being afraid to use the full potenna1 of your bram stops
you in your tracks. Early painful experiences IIlay have erected StOp sIgns
III the frst place, but you ha\e chosen to keep thcm there. Fortunately.
you have the power to choose how you w!I lv toda
Freedom of chOIce means you can choose fcedom. You can choose
to be (ree of the oscillations and Stop signs that have limited
you. Experience the remarkable gifts your mner mind can offer.
Through Direct Lcarnlllg, discover your Natural Bnlhancc and
celebrate your genius.
127
Approach Paradoxical Problems with
Creative Problenl-Solving
Appropriate to a paradoxical situation, J begn this chapter vma ridde.
I frst ran into this in D.N. Perkins book, Te !:nJ\Ic!Irk. See if you
can fgure it Out:
There is a man at home. He i s wearing a mask. There is a man
coming home. What i s happening in tim scene?
Please notice the internal representation you create frm this riddle.
:did you imagine? Oid you imagine a burglary scene? If not, what
happened inside c:when J suggested it?
Did you imagine a costume party? How about trick-or-treat
on Halloween?
Each time [ offer another suggestion, notice what happens to your
own internal representation. The mind instantly incorporates the
redefned problem (what kind of mask is being worn?) to generate a
different solution (scene of what is happening). But do you have the
solution yet? Notice your feelings. When everything comes together,
you will experience a "felt shift," a strong internal experience of
everything "fitting" together into the correct solution.
Now let's consider what obstacles arc standing in the way. We can
th of tht'c as variables in rhe riddle that we need to change or to hold
constant, So far we have changed the variable of "mask" and probably
also "man." We could manipulate mask i n other ways. For example, all
the masks we have suggested so far have been disguises. How about a
welder' mask, or a surgeon's mask? Those are masks of protection. /
you consider them, notce how your scene changes.
What if the mask were abstract, as ill "the mask of personality?" How
mi ght that change your scene?
One variable that we have not manipulated at all iS "home." I all our

130
Port J:pply NotarolBrillion~
scenes, the homeis a hou-dwdlingplace. What ifit \vcre abstact, such
as "Home whertheheart is" ? That IlK'tl phor \ltldchangethescene.
What other kinds of"homcs"' a there? Howabout home base? Or,
home plate? There IS a Illall at home plate, wearing a mask (3 catcher's
mask), there IS a man coring home... frm third bast. What is happening
in this scene? It is a baseball gme!
Nowcheck your fechng. When the Internal rcpr-sellution changed
in a v that everything ft, didyou feci the shinside you? That "(elt
sh" is key to knowing that you have dcfinthe correct problem.
For many years of working with clients on personal development
issues, I kept posing myselfa riddle: Why do people set thcmh'CS up
for failure when they want to resolve problem that affects them
personally. I came to realize people set themseh-es up for f
.
1ilurc when
they think they are applying a Ilewsolmion but arc only doing morc of
the same. They blindly step into a trap of their own deVising; self
designed andIf-set. theyspringit upon ourselves ~the while rrylllg
to do the "right thing." Thty trap themselves wnh their ullconscious
problem-solving Strateb')'. whichcreated the problem to begin with. The
faulty strategy creates the paradoxical problem.
Here are examples of twO cients who came to me trapped in classic
paradoxical problems. The first chent. named Bob. called my ofce to
explain his problemlike tim:
"Over the years I'v spent thousands of dollars Oil self-improvement
tapes. I don't think that any of them has ever done me the iC;t bit of
good. In fact, I honestly believe that audio tapcs can't help me." Hc
paused for a moment, perhaps underscoring a challenge to me. "Now I
have your brochure, and l was wondering which of your Paralulllnal
tapes I should use to get past this behel?"
Do you recognize the dt!enua Bob pmcmed? There wano \'-y I
could fll his paradoxical requCsl. As tcself-improvcmemtape would
work for him, nnjself-improvement tape I suggested would alo 1101
work. Bob had set himselfup to win by proving hilllselfright but, once
again, eldeJ ttplosillg by not bemg able to use the wisdom on a upe to
achieve hI desired result.
The other diem was a woman named Claire. Many years ago she
came to my ofice wanting to lose approximarcly seventy pounds.
Although she ate good foods, kept her diet to a minlillulll number of
calones, exercised regularly, she stayed heavy. In diSCUSSing her
experiences battling weight, Claire shared a reveahng story about the
pprooch Parodorico| Problra tvth CnotIve!roblem-Solvtg
nanLre ofher stuck state.
About five }'ears earlier Claire's husband, whom she had since
divorced, had insisted that she seek medical help to lose weight. The
doctor put her 111 a hospital for one week of extensive metabolic and
hormonal testing, feeding her only intravenously. She was furious but
helpless to change her imprisonment. Once commined to the hospital,
ashe could do ws endure the tL"ting.
Even with a the test. the doctor could fnd no medical reason for
Claire's condition. What's 1lI0re, to the complete bafement of tile
doctor and her husband, she had li/ed nine pounds during her stay.
"Anyone else," the doctor told her, "would ha\ lost at least ten to fieen
pounds."
Think about it. What better way for Claire to get even with the
doctor and her husband? Get even bybafing them. Unfortunately, five
years later, her Str:1teb')' w st.ilI workingperfectly [Q keep her ovenveight
and stuck.
Run Hard to Stay in Place
ParadOXical problems, sucb as Dab's and Claire's, elude the person
who has them. A problem exists as an unintentional by-product of a
solution to a differemproblem. Because the solution worked in one
context, the body-mind offers the same behaviors to a diferent prblem.
Naturally, when we lear something that succeeds, we prize it as an
efcient, successful strategy. Our neurophysiology is designed to
remember what \rks. But what works to soh.- one problem does nOt
necessarily solve the next. In Uob's and Claire's cases, the misapplied
strategy creates a unique class of stuck sttcs--Qne have only alluded
to so far in this book. This OSCIllation unot the same as b'ttlng stopped
III learning, then fearing to g on. This is an unique type of problem
where being right is wrong. Clinging t the last set of skills prevents a
solution to the next problem.
In a W the oscillation inside paradoxical problems erects invisible
Stop sigs. No specifc fear-physically, emotionally or intellectually
sends us back the way we came. We perceive, clearly enough, the
detriments of our currell[ problem situation, but we do not perceive
at all that our behaviors cause those detriments. Causation seems
mysteriously beyond our control.
Now, consider how perfeCtlOIllSIIl causes paradoxical dilemmas.
131
We are tryingto dissolve rather
than solvethe problemof having
problems.
RobertA Minkoft Searching for
the HealingTale-
Storytelpublished bythe
National Storytelling Association
Jim J: pply Naturol Brllionre
Doing something well has its rewards. The br:ull, taklllg that learing to
its illogical extreme, assumes that doing something cqct|y will Yield
optimw/J revrds. I f we generalize such a learing, as in the problems
described earier. we succeed :u escalatng error. The perfectioni st insists
that only flawk' execution bO enough pcrfonmnce, an)thlllg else
is filure. Either success or dismal failu1 tO polin loop--mulullg
in OSCIllation.
Such oscillations occur Illost frcquemly when people get into a "da
ta-be" trap-trying to feci better about themsclvl' by working hard to
perform perfecty. A chent of mine named Pat had tenuous self-esteem
because he contnually compared his effor to others who had achieved
success. As he tried hard to feel good about himsdf, he tended to
overcontrol his behavior, hke the kid learing to drive the stick shif car
in trafc on hills. What I discovered working with Pat and others like
him ` that the w out of paradoxcal problems is also the way out of
perfectionism, "do-to-bc" traps. and barners to df-estee1l1.
Now let's explore how to overcome the tendency to fall lllto
paradOXical problems, how to idemif thelll If we do. and how to
understand them well enough to resoh- them.
Solve Dilemmas and Resolve Paradoxical Problems
A story is told of the late great psychiatrist Dr, Mtlton I. Erickson
when he was a yOllng boy all mfather's d11ry f1Tnl i Wi scons1l1. A I
rcmember the story, the weather was turning for the worse and
temper:lures of minus nemy degrees Fahrenheit were threatelllng the
livestock. Muton's father had managed to get all the covsinto the bar
except one, Tins one obstreperous cow stopped at the threshold of the
barn and \'Ouldn't budge,
Poor farmer Erickson did everything he could think of to get that
cow to go into the safe warm barn, but his every attempt failed. He
pushed, he pullcd. he whipped, he grabbed, and he kicked without
success. The harder he trlcd, the funnier the whole scene became to
young Mtlton, to the point where Mtltoll was rolhng hysterics ill the
snow, watching hfather' IIIcreaslllg frmtr1.ton.
Finally, Milton's fther rurned and shouted, , if you dn It'S so
dar fUllny, why don't yOll put the cow 111 the bar!"
With that, Milton leaped up and ran behll1d the cow. Then, grabblllg
Its tail in both hands, he pulled as hard as possible a\ay frm the barn.
pproocl Porodoxicol Problctn uth Cnotive Pnblen:-Solvng
Instantly, the L mooed and leaped into the barn.
In this SlOry the problem was not solved the way the problem was
originally defncd by the personin [hestuckstate. In reality, the problem
was re-sol\'cd, or resolved. by redcfnmg what the problem \as-the
paradOXIca behavior at the heart ofthe maue d changtng II.
Write a New Story
If we go back to Claire's weight loss example, we fd t issues. A
self-esteemIssue for her. plus an issue about how to assert her authority
over her ownbody 111 a marnage that 1I0t working for her.
In our session tOb'ther, I helped her connect her experience in the
hospital w1th her ll1tentlon to get even. When she realized her weight
loss had tinle or nothlllg to do with diet, she quit chastising herself for
filing at weight loss. Instead. we focused on devdoping her sense of self
as an independent, self-sufciem person. enjoying her ideal weight. In
the process she let go of the excess emotional baggage she had been
draglllgaround regarding the doctor and her ex-husband.
[n follow-up conversations I had with her 111 months and years to
come, Claire did beautifully. She had dropped over ninety pounds and
successfully kept It ofT by habitually eating in the same low-calorie
f1Shion she had become comfortably used to.
Sob, the self-improvement (ape buyer, also made a siglllfcalH
breakthrough. When he asked me to suggest a tpe, told h1l11, "Uob,
you need to understand that no audIO cassette is going to change you.
You've been buyin! tapes expecting them to get you to change things
about yourself, but you're right. No C3!>tte has changedyouor everwill
change you. The only dung (hat call change you i s you."
Evidently, Bob e:riellced a felt shif ^hen he took in the truth of
that stltement, Aalong he had known he had to be i charge of his life,
but he desperately Wished for the magic elixir promoted in some tape
advertisements. "When yOll are ready to change yourself," I continued,
"you will understand(hat the Paralinnnal tapes can facilitate your process.
They create an ellv1ronl1lem-atime and pla1_ l'u will-in wluch
you can ident resources ady 1jou. They do not pmanythmg 111[0
you that not already the. They help you gn access to it."
In reconunellding three rnpes, I insisted that he lise them according to
my IIlStructions or retur themfor a rfulld, I would not allow hun to
deceIVe himself mo thll g the tapt. were going to do any work for
133
We create our realitythrough the
stories we tell ourselves and
othe1\is liberatingto knowthat
wearejlSt one thought awayfrom
restorying our lives bysimply
letting go of thestorythat is
maintaining the problemstate.
.kryJ. Welik, Ed.O.
Storyteller, instructor, certified
reality therapistand Professor of
Special Education at St. Cloud State
University
Years ago I livedfor a short while
with a verbal abuser. Onemorning
afterthe man had gone to work, I
was sitting atthe kitchen table
trying t figure OYt howto leave,
when I heard a pecking noise on
the back patio. When I went
outide I sawthat a little bird was
trapped inside a bird feeder. The
feeder was completely enclosed
elcept forthe small opening at the
bottom. The little bird pecked
frantically on all the sides trying to
free itelf. I wiggled the feeder
until the bird seed made an incline
totheopening, thinking that the
little bird would simply walk to the
openingand get out. But not so. It
kept pecking away becoming even
more frightened.
Thenan inner voice, b loud as
thunder but as gentle as the sound
of a warm, summer rain, said to
me. If you cover all of the sides
but one so thatthe Ught comes
fromonly ONE direction. the little
bird will free itsele I carefully
covered all the sides so light came
fromone direction. The little bird
did indeed. in a matter of seconds.
free itself. The struggle was over.
The next morning I packed my
things andleft my relationship,
never looking back.
Restoring ourselves to natural
brilliance simply means following
the onlytruelight. We most
certainty peckfranticallyat walls
that Imprison us withfalsebeliefs
and illusions but there is always a
wayto free ourselves.
Shaaryl M. Byrd
Natural Brilliance reteatpartcipant
University of Colorado
Parr J: Apply Nafllrai Brilliatlct
him that he w unable or unwilling to do for himself. Bob gratefully
purchased the tapes and later reported he was accomplishing goals that
had eluded mfor
Both Claire and Bob like authoring their own hv. Only they have
the authority co change their mStorus. Uu unol they recognized they
were mcharge, they were poerle . Old I git them anything? Did they
do anything differently from what they had already been doing?
Ironically, no. Yet thlj' caused their problems, very troubling problems,
to disappear quickly.
Take the Easy Way Out of Your Trap
We trap ourselves when we try to resolve personal problem using the
unconscious problem-solving strategy that created the problcm t begin
with. The good news is that the Natural l3rilliance model provides an
ideal and easy \vay om.
To get omof trap yu must first realize you are in one. \hen you
recognize you have come mL circle--trying ullsuccessfully to resolve a
problem that only came back with a vcngeance--stop the lerry-go
round. and hop of. Many people feci distinctly frustrated or anb'I)' when
thl realize they rpped in a dysfnctional cycle of problem-solving.
Stop and release the emotons, release the ss , and get back far enough
to notice what ureally happening. Releasing and noticing put you in a
resourceful state of body and I d so that youcan get distance fom your
emotons. You may be still Snck in the trap. but at least now you know
you are holding the key to get out.
ext, do something diferent; respond and then \vi0ess the effects of
your aCtions. Did you make things worse or better? Respond in an
unusual way. Doing something creative, something zany, something
unlike your typical response, give5 you a reason to laugh and lear. Use
any success in the direction of your goal to blaze a trail. Experiment,
explore, discover.
The challenge is not releasing, noticing, responding, or witllessing.
1y now, those steps should be clear and fairly easy to perform. The big
challenge remainsto defne the real problem. Defning the real
problem can be tricky because, if the problem you think i s the problem
i s not the problem, then what is the real problem that you wam to solve?
When you a wl g to assume that the fr problem definiton you
come up with is wrong. you a wBon your \ay to success. Only then
Appracll Paradoxical Probltl/!$ witll Cmlfi. Probltr-Solv;I
vyou beg1 to explore. Do not assume you know what is going 01.
Be willing to enter the Zen " beginner's mind" and suspend there, odily
content to recognize you feci tpped, trapped by ci rcumstancl' of your
own design that you do nO[ yet fully understand. Do not rush to solve
the problem, but hO\r around It, releasing and notcing \vith CUriOSIty,
empathy, and humor.
This prmclple of staying With the problem rather than rushlllg to solve
it leads to a process of creativity and problem-solving that I shall now
describe. Using the Creative Problem-Solving Process will ensuf that
you identify the problem in such a \ay that you can solve it.
Follow the Creative Problem-Solving Process
Present
State
Define
Problem
Identify
Obstacles
Generate
Solutions
t
Develop
Implementation
Plans
135
136 Part J:Appl) Naturil Brill;a"u
In mis process, which l initially developed for Honeyell Corporation,
me "problem" is simply the difrence bcnV:'cn the "pr t "SCllt sute" and
the "desired OlUcome," You have a unique "lew oftlus diference.
Someone else lookingat where you a now and where you \.ant to be
will almost surely defne and interpret the problem differently.
Rememberthe riddle; the more defnitions you come up with, the more
scenariOS you get.
The frst step in the process is [ descnbeyourpresenrStJtCandclearly
defne your desired result. Thenyou can take the diference between the
t as your frst description when you "defne problem."
You wlil modif the definition of your problem as you comider
obstacles between the present state and desired outcome. As each
obstacle redefnes the problem, the process chan shows a loop between
"defne problem" and "identif obstacles."
The clearer your defnition of [he problem. the more obvious your
soluton. Unfortunately, most people msh to get rid of their problcms by
prematurely grabbing the frst and most obvious solution. I say
i]or/mrclybecause the frst solutions are the ones that occur to us bascd
on our predominant problem-solving approach. Remcmber, it is your
approach that trpS you 1your current problem.
Gomg back to the Creative Problem-solving process chart, you sct. '
the loop betwecn the step of "gcncrate solutions" and the "ddine
problem/identiobstacles" loop. We ha\'e a loop bccause e\erysolution
w creatc redefines our problem-asin the riddJe with the man at home
wearing mask. Every solution you Implement carnes Its own load of
attend1m obstacles.
When the encrb'Y crisis ofthe 1970$ hit, we waited in line at the g
pumps.
The Detroit auto industries projected that energy efficient
imported automobiles ere going to bc much more popular than the
gas-guzzling American cars.
So the auto makers deCided to produce smaller cars. Sma r, lighter
cars would sell. Problem solved, right? V, partially. Uut look at the
problem created for the steel industry. Detroit ehllunated enormou
amOUllts of steel from cars, VIrtually annihilating the steel industry that
had depcnded on the automotive business. In Minncsota, we suppiJed
tacomte to the steel 1l1dustry. Guess what happened here? The movc to
smaller cars all but destryed the iron 1ll1ll1g industr
Perhaps you have heard the maxm:
Approacll P,ladoxi(af PTobfrnlJ U,fth Cnativt Probf"I-Sofli"X
For want or a nail the shoe is lost, for want of a shoe the horse is
lost. for \am of a horse the rider is lost, for wt of the rider [he
battle is lost, for want of the battle the kingdom s lost, and all for
the w of nail.
:giI-:ten,
Peoto o
I keep this age-old message fmned above my desk: Take your tme in
defning your problem. Keep remembering there is a gool behind your
goal. What is the real problem you want to solve?
Irthe Creative Problem-solving process, I suggl. st that eighty percent
of your prblem-solving time might well be spent correctly defning the
problem; the other twenty percent in generating a solution and
implementing 1(. Think of this 80120 ratio in relation to the Natural
I3rilli:mct model: Eighty percell( of the time is in releasing and noticing;
twenty percent in responding and witnessing.
Spending such long and careful time on refning the problem ma not
be an easy approach for somc people. The Creative Problem-solving
process requircs a high tolerance for ambiguity and paradox. Again,
think back to the riddle at the beginning of this chapter. Many people
dash headlong on a straight line from problem to solution. Reality
indicaH a different approach.
Allow your thinking to meander into random, divergent, playful
musings. Take tillll. to ask lot of qucstions and test your hunches. Using
the riddle as an inspiration, create many dif rent scenarios to change the
internal representations you clung to when you realized you had
problem.
Externalize the Problem
Several Usefill techmques can help you make the most of the Crative
Problem-solving process. Thesc \vilJ heighten your divergent thinking,
help you identify the correct problem, and aid you in generating
solutions that work. The secret behind all the techniques is that they pull
you out of feeling stuck. These tcchniques iuvolve active, purposeful.
IIlqulSltive physical and mental movement. With them you shake up an
otherwise static and stagnant view of the " problem-as-a-thing-causing_
suRering" to reclaim your success.
In the Natural Bril ce retreat, w lead you to exteralize the stuck
state or problem you working on by creating an analogy or 11letaphor
for you to play with. We go 01 an outdoor experiential learnmg course,
137
"You have never lived until you
have almost died:
138
The motto of the Special
Operations Group Military
Assistance Command-Viet Nam.
Part 3: AIply Natural Brillimlct
which we set up as a metaphor for your problem. You can create your
own analogy any day of the week. Choose an important issue, one
which put you at risk uyou do not solve it.
1) 11lillk oj y{ur 011'11 perso/wl stll{k state.
One example might be that you feel you are stuck under the
emotional domination of your parents. Let us pretend for sake of
the example that whenever you talk \vith or visit your parents, at
least one of them snoops into your personal life, which makes you
angry. You are an adult, yet every time you communicate with
them, you regress to age cleven and ha\e to make excuses for not
follo\ving their directiv.
2)JJli"k c allY s I/I!i(ml ClCllt coming lp 50011.
Let's say a friend asked you to do something you fel t
uncomfortable agreeing [0. Because you felt uneasy telling your
fflend why, you acquiesced rther than possibly creating conflict.
Imagine this situation as analogous to coInicating with your
parems. Assign your fiend the role of yom mom and/or dad.
J)Create a filII r'lreselJtatioll oj your desired r$lIlt.
Imagine the way you want your m to be when you visit your
parents. What kind of communication do you desire? How do
you wam to act? Are your parents, peers, friends, aduhs with
COIIUl10n backgrunds, or what?
Consider your next get-together with the frend who made the
request of yu. What do you want? You might choose to express
yourself directly and tell him or her "No."
4) Vwt iller/1II1 or extemal obstaclcs might YOIl Jace?
Here is where yOll define the problem and identif obstacles
following the Creative Problem-solving process. lemember to
keep playing with alternative explanations for why the problem
stays in place. For examplc. consider that the problem exists
because your parents have low self-esteem and will only feel good
about themselves when they see your life has turned out perectly.
Or not. Play with it.
5) CCllemte at leas/jive t seven optional respomes /0 move )011 ill the
direction cif your goal.
Think of getting together with your friend. You might take a silly
Appro(ulJ Paradoxical Problem! with Creative Problem-Solvill!
gift that means "Thanks, but no thanks." You could hand your
fnend a primed banner that says "Sorry, Charlie!" Who knows?
Get creative! Set the gaas being able to disagree with or confum
your friend appropriately if he or she tries to convince you to do
something uncomfortable.
6) Ccilto the e1I relaxed alld alert. ResJOlId ill I/wfl'r ways you Jeel
are appropriate il the time.
Let go of your concern about doing well. After all, this is an
analogous sinlation, not the real trung.
7) After fhe Mill, wiwl'ss tile result oj ymlr !ic:u.
How did you handle yourself? What did you say to your fiend?
What is the moral of the stor? What can that teach you about
how to be, or not be, when you are with your parents?
Consider how the above technique allows you to disassociate from
negative emotions and & in new perspectives. From slIch a resourceful
mental and emotional place, you easily enter the witness mode, the
source of most of your learning breakthroughs.
Enhance the Quality and Efectiveness of Solutions
The Natural Brilliance model suggests you solv/' the /lIay YOI solve
problems. It encourages creative and divergent thinking, feeling. and
action and propels you to go beyond merely fixing the apparent
problem. As a generative approach to solving problems, Natural
Brilliance enables you to search for and find the solution to the \Vy you
have been tng to solve your problem.
In my work with individuals [ have learned to listen for clues to
paradoxical problems in people's descriptions of their problems. For
example, when a penon uggests: "This is the only problem [ have been
unble to solve. If it weren't for this problem (fll in smoking,
weIght, you name it), my mwould be exactly as I\Vnt it to be."
Such a statement gives away that they are searching outide themselves
for lhe Ultra Solution. as Dr. Paul Watzawick, the director of the Palo
Alto Brief Therapy Clinic, describes it. A person seeking the end-all
solutionthe final answer that will cure all ills-\vill most likely miss the
work dlat really needs to be done mternally to solve the problem.
To follow a generative approach to problem solving and prevent the
139
140
Part 3:Apply Nutural Bri/liQllct
traps inherent within double binds, use the four steps of the Natural
1rilliance model. In additon, do the specifc behaviors of thinking and
feeling that are presented under each of the three attitudes described m
Chapter h. Pu Nalrlral Brillialce to WorkJorYou. To review, the attitudes
include being receptive, getiera/IIlt, and persitCllt.
Being receptive means taking an attitude that you can safely explore
areas that you had been afaid t consider. Discover what lies outside the
boundaries and constraints you have accepted i the pas.
Being generative means engaging in creative ways ofthinking and
feeling. You will need to bypass your inner critc ro reach your creatve
childlike attitude, how you used to learn about the world before yOll
started school. Roll up your sleeves and dip imo a problem, without
concern for "gening it right." Express yourself Use your imagination
with the abandonment of a child who fngerpaints with no worries of
cleaningup the spatter.
Beingpersistent means establishing a clear vision of what you want for
yourself now and in the future. It also means having the courage to
believeyou can create what you sincerely setyour heart and mind to do.
Take the Right Path to Success
Let us review the secrets of success found in the combination of
Natural Brilliance with Creative Problem-solving. The fve principles of
Natural Brilliance discussed i nChapter 3 .
Principle 1 : Tolerate ambiguity to realizeyour iL pmenrial.
Principle 2: Maesmall adjusO ltS slowly t accomplishyourgoal.
Principle 3: Achieve a state ofbeing by being not by doif.
Principle 4: Maintain an outcome orientation and increase
your choices.
Principle b: Change in generative ways for [he best results.
One major addition is: Consider Iat your problem dnition is wong.
put it this way because it is okay to proceed even though you may be
pursuing the wrong problem. Witnessing the outcomes you produce
wi ll quickly give you feedback to whether you mcon the right track.
[f everything you have doue increases oscillation, do something
diferent--such as, redefne what you consider to be the problem.
Trust your mind to helpyou achieveyour highest good in life. Know
you are your own best therapist and educator. Following the Natural
Approtcll Ptrldo);ctd Pfobltms 11;111 erta/i" t Probltm-Solving
Brilliance model allows everything in your experience to give you
feedback about howto proceed.
Remember my opening story i n Chapter I ? I told you of my
becoming faim during my icebreaker speech at Toastmasters. The
following week, after numerous "mind control" techniques, I still had
the same result. Why did I fail twice? What ^ wrng? What was my
problem? Asking myselfthose questions about Illy failure, compounded
my failure, because the only answers to them are excuses. Let's face it, I
did what I did. Whatever I did, did not produce my desired results.
Ifmygoal had been to "avoid f
.
1ilure," 1 fail ed big time. Ifmygoal had
been to "lear how to be the best public speaker I can be," then fainting
was pan of my learning. and therefore, part of my success. When I ask
myself"What did I learn?" or " Howwill this experience serve me to be
a stronger, more accomplished speaker?" I learn that [ learned a lot.
Those two questons will bring out your witness and generate peristent
learning in the direction of your goals. In the last part of the
Toastmaster's example. I did the unthinkable. I broke the protocol for
meetings by asking members to sty afer. I asked for what I wanted and
I achieved it.
The power of effective goal-setting cannot be overestimated. If you
set goals well, you greatly increae your chances of achieving them in
record tme.
Set Goals for Success
Ifyou set a well-formed goal, you \venjoy 1 immediate payoff. A
well-formed goal is the only kind that works. You can create effective
goal statements by satisflng these fve conditions:
I ) State goals il positive terms. Goals must specif what you want,
nO[ what you don't want. For example, dyou do not like your
house and want to move, in order to fnd it, specif exactly the
house you want.
2) Cot!tne tire goal to Ihm is ill your coUlrol. Ultimately, you are the
one to decide what you wnt. For example, the goal "I want my
ofce team to be happy" is not within your contol; you cannot
control howsomeone else feels. "I w to do my part to create an
ofce environment that supports my team's work" constitutes a
general efective goal statement. You would next need to specif
howyou \Vnt to implement your goal.
141
When I was in high school, I wrote
a poemabout my goals. Itwent
something like this "Everyone has
their goals: money, fame, famity,
success... But mine is the toughest
goal of alt, mine is happiness.
When r grewup, I realized that it
wasn't a goal at alt. It was a wayof
life-it was a simple choice. I
realized it wasn't difficult at all. I
learnedto choose a way of being in
the world, to choose happiness on
an ongoing basisregardlessof
external influences.
carolyn Sikes
IDEA Seminars
Considerattendingmyannual
NewYear's GoalSetting
Wortshop. Itcomplements allyou
lear here.
Call myoficeat teaming
Strategies Corporation formore
informaton.
142
Establishyour stake in what you
want. In other words, you havIto
knowwhere it's going to lead you,
what you're goingtoget outof it.
and howit relates to your world
view. Itdoesn'tdo any good to
imagine that you wantto be a
doctor.You have to see yourself
acieving rewards of being a
doctor thatate spe<ifically
important to you in terms of your
reasonforbeinginthis lifetime.
Peter Kline. Chairmanofthe BGard
of Integra learning Systems
PmJ:Apply Ntlural Bri/lianct
3) Pf' rhe presnll posirilrs. State your goal so [hat it maintains
the dngyou value l110st in your m. If you have to give up tOO
much to hava goal, it is unlikely you will seek It. For example, if
people want to quit smoking, they need to subsntlltc Important
\ other thansmoking to take a social break or relax when the
are under duress.
4) Fmml a lallgiblegoal. You must be able to knowwhen you ha\e
achievdyour goal. Ifyour goal is to be happy, It \rJdifcult to
know whether you have it or dit will last. To turn "I want lO be
happy" into a measurable 6'a1, you must pecif what happiness
means toyou. " [ want to spcndfour hours ofquality timeWith my
family each week engaged in intriguing, lcarlung actIvities" is a
testable goal; yOll knowwhen you have achieved it.
5) Cr41 a goa/ lltllmd wilat yOIl .reatl)' desire. Your goal must be
something you value. For example, if yOll set a goal because your
mQ[her or doctor wants you t, you are setting yourself up for
disaSter. Your goal must involve sOlllethlllg you conSider
important and worthwhile.
Take a few minutes at your earliest convcmcnce, Ifnot right now, to
think about your purpose for readmg m book. Do the 6'als you have
already establihed meet the conditons for effective goals? To be certlln,
writedownyourgoalsandcheck thelll. It walsobe helpfl tohvclear
goals when you head into the Otioll Glllor M Chapter 12.
Break Through in Business
The mges in Imchapter arc cqually applicable for busme5s. Aof
the stories and lessons of personal breakthrough can be viewed as
metaphors in business. When you COll1bme Natural Brilliance with
Creative Problem-solving, you eiller the role of educational consultant
to yourselfand performance consul t ant to your busliless.
^a consultant to organizations in both the public and private sectors,
[ have set up my role as an "inside-outsider." I aCI like an employee
in establishing close IIlterpersonal relationships With key employees
and managers. At the same time, I act like the consultant 1 taking
a long perspectve on the Orb"lliz:tJon. From an outside perspective, 1
fulfill my charge of offering straightforward, honest feedback to
employees, managers, and dircclOrs, without fear of recrmunaton. such
as loslllg mJob.
Approaci. Po'odoxital Pmbll'llu milll CnlliwProblem-Sol.ing
^i nnponant part of myJob as consultant, therapist, and educator is
to plan for : own obsolescence; I amalways workig myway out of a
Job. I want my client to learn the lessons th t ") dCsi rI enough rhat
they com apply them on their own. Thtmust develop self-sufciency
and the ablbry to learfrom thelf experience. I help clientrelease what
is not working, notice chOices they have missed, generate thelT own
positive responses, and witness the effects of their own behavior. IfI
work harder than nqclients to achieve changes they want, then I am
carrying them on my back to theusuccess. When they arrive, they v
be no more capable of maintdining their success than they were capable
ofachieving it.
With Natural Urilltance, organizations learn how [Q learn from
their ongoing experience in business. No longer doomed to repeat
the miHakes of the p:lI, individuals who contribute move their
companies into bnlliant futuTs. When people express theiT genius by
focusing it on resolving business problems, their emerging power impels
the whole business toward it goals. A good leader is one who sees the
potential a around and creates a work environment that engages the
genius of every employee.
If you arc a teacher or therapist. please consider the capacity for
genius w:iting to be revealed in your c1iems. When you see people as m
that they can become, you activate a communication directly with
their genius.
Generate Your Path to Personal Genius:
The New Option Generator
The Namr Orilliance retreat activates the Natural Brilliance model
so that all participants learit cognitively, emotionally, and behaviorally.
During the retreat, participants use seven exercises to bring up
oscillations and move them past their internal limitations infO the
brilliance of their persona! genius. The sequence of seven exercises
fOfms a single systemcalled the Nel Otioll Gel/er(/or.
This chapter dL"ribL the New Option Generator so you can follow
it on your own. Using it. you can resolve paradoxical problems and
powerflly install the Namral I3rilliance experiential lcarning model into
your thinking, feeling. and acting. I saved the ew Option Genertor
for last, because It asscmbk"S the whole ofthe Natural Brilliance model
into one powerll system.
The New Option Gcner:Hor rehes on the atura! Brilliallce model,
Direct Learing. and the essential clemcmsofCreaove Problem-solvmg.
The process. when )OU follow it from Start to finish, tcyou through
the following stages:
Release. Stop oscillating, and prepare your body-mind for the
changes )Ou desire.
!enqy rl,e Cmlli,w,,,,,. On what continuum arc you currencly
osciit.lting?
Determille II,e Cllrrerrl Rm'gc ofClroices. How do they both SlIppOrt
and limit you? Learn to recognize your typical stuck statcs.
Experience thcm attached to the stop signs at each end of your
current continuum of choices. Understand the feelings attracting
you toward benefits you deSire ir: the future and away from
detriments you reject In your current behaviors.
/UcrSfaus. Clarif the benefits and detriments at each end of
the contlnuum and the powerful feelings that have been
T prsshama nam@ with
t NewOption Generator
P"''liminal tape.
146
NOT: For those trainedin net/roo
linguisticprogramming (NL'), the
wayI amanchoringandcollapsing
statesisprobablydiferent from
whatyouhavE elErE1periencPd,
This is not a 19701 anchor col/apse
ora 19quicknat chan. Any
andalopinionsaboutthose
proassesareinvalidh.
NewOption GeneratorI ha
dvelopeddoessomethingradical.
ItdMSnotcolap$E opposite
states. It col/apsesdetrment with
detrimentandbenefits with
beneftalongonebehavioral
continuumandinstanrlymakesall
potentiilresponses at
equallyavailable ataI/ levels:
physically emotionally, and
intellectually
Pan J:ApplJ NI/ura/ Brilliallet
keeping you stuck.
Collapse 5tu!:. Pop OUI the Stop SIgns at each end of your
connnuumand stop ol ting.
Fed Posirive Neutrality urd Ftt#Chcrr:. Emc'lC vith a pervasIVe
physical and emotional sense of peace, almost as ifyou have
facilitated a peacefl alliance of :Dumal R'pect, learmng, and success
bet\I. 'een t\ culrures.
Make a Choice. In accord with your personal power, decide what
you \nt to create.
TakeAction. Rspond with commitment ill the dIrection of your
desired bTa
h mcss As you realize the outcomes of your natural lcrnin! state,
choose to take rhe next steps (0 fulfill your desirc.
To illustrate the New Option Generator nd how it works for
persona transfotmation, I wamto share a personal experience. A bit of
background on my problemwill he!p set the stage.
During my thirtes, I apperd dozens oftunes on local and national
television programs. Rather tha feehng more capable with each show, I
felt progrssivelymore uncomfortable in front of television cameras. I
had excellent studio skills fm making audiO tape programs, and I had
mastered the radio interview. lut when It came to TV, I got
prs ively more stuck.
Part of msuccess on rado callle frmmaklllg eye COIlt.ct ^th the
talk showhost and building nonverbal rapport. Um on TV, when the
CJmera went of the host. the host looked everywhere except at me.
which threwme of.
Associates assured me that I had peformed \ ell on TV talk show.
but I felt like Mr. Stif. After a decade of experiences, I knew I was
b"ning worse. At the same time. I held the bcliefthat mastery in fnt of
the camera was critical for my coninued success in the human
deve!opment feld. So I put melf under = lot of press1e to do \ell.
On my fortieth birthday I set a goal. I decided I would do whate''er it
took to finally master the video media. Within one week (small
coincidence, eh?) I received a call from a satelhte-based self
IInprOVell1ClH network, askmg me to deve!op and record twelve
television shows on various courses J had ta1ght over the years. When I
put down the yhone, I started osCi!lating. I became a waking yo-yo.
Clearly I had a goal and a great opponullIty to achieve It. 1m, let me tell
Gt'traft Your Pi l, tc Peno"al Gt,ius: "n,t Nt'Optio" Gtlluator
you, I wanted to run as fJst I possibly co1ld in the opposite dIrcton!
DUring the month after the mtation to script the shows, I busily
developed the atural I3nlliance tr;lning protocols. For one of the
exeriSd I took a _mu of partic1pants to a ropes course to eerient
on a set of outdoor experiential learg initiatives. I picked one ent,
kown the "Pamper Pole," as my persona challenge. To confont my
fear,I set up conquering the pamper pole a metaphor for Starrlllg in
the shows. \hatt'er I dId on the learning initiative would teach me
howt perform well on TV
When It was my tur to climb the forty-foot polc and stand without
support on topof a wobbly disk bolted to the tOp, I knew what I 'nt(d
to achieve. Once haressed and ballayed with rope, I scamperd up the
pole `ithout hesitation or fcar. As I took the fnal step to the top,my
heart was pounding. I stood, arlllS outstretched, breathing in the
mag c(nt vicwof the surroundings.
I fdt ifnjheart would explode. Then I realized, in the midst of my
adrenaline rush. .. n,is is 1101 fear /'1/1 fcc/ill
g
it' thn and excitelllcllt." I
drank in the reahtion that, although I needed to build skills, I was not
afraid of being on TV. One day I wexpcrience this same nlsh when I
do a national TV appcnance.and it will not be fom fear. It vbe fom
the thrill of havlg cluubed to the top ofsuch a mJg Clmvista.
The shows I crcatt' that autullmturned Ollt to be the best television
performance training course I could have wished for. I had an entire
^ek M fnt ofTV camers rccordll g over nenp-eight hours oftape.
I learned menll skills and reaed that I had lef my concerabout TV
well behind me.
The followl g pring, we received a Cll foma producer at "CBS Up
to the Millute News." To do a five-lllll1ute interview with me on
PhotoIeading, they needed to Lmme in Nnneapo!:s tothe hostin the
New York studio by 51cclite. In all the excitement I fet steadyand cool.
On the evening ofthe interview mywife conunented on how calm I
had been all day. I dId feel good. I was looking forward to doing the
show When I arrived at the CBS afliate in Minneapolis, they led me
into "Space Comrol," a they call it. I sat in the small room, barely bigger
than my closet, starmg uto the lens of a camera. Uehind me wagiant
postcard ofMlI1neapohs at dawn: m my ear an uncomfortable audIO
umbilicus to the Nt'w York studio.
When the satellite lmk went online, they could see and heJr me in
New York and ! could hear them. After I Joked about pinach in my
147
148

t 1
Hut J:Appl) Natur.d B,il/ianu
teeth with the host, the producer said, A nght, gemlemen, thirty
seconds." That's when it hit me.
All of a sudden n heart Llte hit the high end of the aerobic zone
.
It
felt hke nnecktie flapping on my chest. I ^ sure they could see
mneck throbbing in New York. Then, like magic. mm I w on top
of the pamper pole looklllg across the nanOI1. "1,i s i1 "/ fear; th uu tie
tlr'lI ofmy carer," JUSt as f
.
lSI a the thought appeared, my body fooded
\vith energy. felt the complete connection of mind, body. and spirit
linking with power and purpose.
The interview went fawlessly. The next morning, the phones at
Learlllllg Str.ucgies Corporation started ringing. CBS called two days
later to say they had received inquiries weU. whichis unusual for them.
The greatest accolade came when the producer invited me back for a
story on Paraliminal tapes.
More potent than any aile experience in my story is the fact that
everytime l appear ui the media, 1 add to nset of skills. I have opened
[he path of lifelong learing regarding presenting before the television
media, and I witness continual growth in the direction of my
professional goals.
Do the New Option Generator
Domg the seven exercises of the ewOption Generator is designed
to use your energy surrounding a paradoxical hfe Issue to establish usefl
behavio tng and av:lable resources. You can do it alone or have
another person guide you through Exercises 2 and 3. You can modif
the pace at which you do the steps.
If you are working with a partner who also want to eff cct a change,
you can take trcompletlllgExercises I through 3, then complete the
Dn-ct Learg in tndem or independently. Stop afer each sectlon of
the exercise to discuss what you discovered With your parmer.
Willi this map of the New Option Generator, you can follow
the sequcnce:
Crt/fralt }ur Pat" to Prrsot/al Crnius:Tr Nrw Option Cfflrrator
Start 1 I
"
t
2 .i.

--
End
7 1 0
`
B P
Ewrcise 1: Dei"l till ProblemImu
A) Iden a m issue. or problem, you wallt to resolve. Ideally,
use the lSSue you wrote about on the worksheet in Chapter 9.
B) Take four piect'S of paper, of four diferent colors if you like,
and in the center of each print the name of one of the four
qu.drants: Presem Negatives; PreSfIt Positivts; !utnrr Nf,atives;
lmtmPositil.
PrC7t Neatir are problems, or detriment, you \ to get zw
from or eliminate from your m. Waming to stop doing and being
tht. 'Se thlllg may be the driving force for your wmtng to change.
|Yc:rmPositiVS are bentits ou wamto keep, or not lose, even
you eliminate the present detiments to achievewhat you desire.
149
150 P J: AIIlly Nlwrll Bri/li,mu
Iutureeyot:wsmc problems, or dltTlmf'ms. you W3nt to avoid
when you achieve what you desire.
FlIlllrf Po:liU oene]ityou want to achieve 1 making your
desird change. Wnring to Start domg and being these thll1 may
be the driver for your w:mnng [0 change.
C) Relax Into a receptive. iearnmg State of I11md. Follow the
directions for emering the resource level of relaxed alertness.
(See pages 49-52) In this relaxed state, [hmk about each of me four
quadrants. What experiences represent each quadrant? Explore
your feelings and any images assOciated with each of the
four quadrant.
When you are ready, open your , bu remain in a relaxed and
creative stare. Using colored pens, if you like, around each of the
quadrant names. quickly write words and draw pictures that
characterize each of the quadrants. Your words and pictures can
express being and doing. Continue putting items on the four
pages until you feel fnished. If another item occurs to you later,
add it to the appropriate page.
Option: Label each item with a code letter mdicating the sensory
modality that each word and each picture expresses-Visual,
Auditory, Kinesthetc, Olfactory, GuSt.tory. Beside each item, put
the letter that corresponds to the sellSdtion in your body when you
think about that part of your life i ssue. For insunce, under Ilsmt
Nellivs, I would have written about my TV challenge, the :hw
lc:t looking Ql4'ayV andjeeUug st[ -K. Somebody who wants to
udown and has foulld that exercising works (ifhe would do it
collSlstemly) might wntc, "Courll Potator' AIR, because he calls
himself that when he looks in the mirror and feels bad for not
exercising. Or a drawing ofa slim waist-V. Noticing how many
times you have written each letter can indicate how these
detriments and benefts are affecting you.
D) Designate one hand to hold the rrrnl and the other to hold
thejiaMre. An easy way to choose which is which is to say to
yourself "On the one hand my future looks bright" and notice
which hand you hold out as you gesture. The other hand is
desigated to hold the presetl.
Execs1: Inlgratt mcDttrimttf'
A) Looking at all th e detriments you ha\e put on your prtSPlt
Gtluratt Your Palh to Personal Gtnius: n,t Nell' Oplion Gentrator
negatives page, experience the negative thing that have made you
want to elullinatc thiS issue from your life. Use your creative
imagination to place all the present negatives into the "present"
hand. Imagll1e all the consequences of the detrimems, with all
their associated punishmcnr they look, sound, and feci.
ow lI11agle holding in your hand an object symbolic of all the
present negatives you waf}( to eliminate. As you imagine this
symbolic object in your hand, notice what it looks like and feels
lik- it size. shape. weight, density, texture, temperature. color.
Pay special attention to its surface. Is it angular or rounded, rough
or smOQ[h? Are there any sounds associated with this object?
Imagine th:l you can feci it not only in this hand but also u1 this
arm, shoulder, in this side of your body, this side of your face,
chest. abdolllen. pelvis, thigb, in this leg. Imagine that you have a
line down the cemer of your body, dividing this side containing
the issue frolll the other side of your body.
!\) Looking at all the detriments you have put on your iUlllfe
l!egalils page. experience the negative things that yoll will want
t avoid as you achieve your desire. Use your creati imagination
to piJce all thejilll/I tlemia. into the "fmlre" hand. Imagine g
the consequences of the detriments, with an their associated
punishments-as thty would look, sound, and feel if they came
to fruition.
Now imagine hold1l1g in your hand an object symbolic of all the
mmn Ilegt you wam to aVid. A you imagine msymbolIc
object in your hand, notice what it looks like and feels like-its
size, shape, weight, densit. texture, temperature, color. Pay special
attention to it surce. Is It angular or rounded, rough or smooth?
Are there ally sounds associated with mobject? Imagne that you
can feel it not only III m hand but also in m arm, shoulder. in
this side of your body, this side of your face. chest, abdomen,
pelvis, thigh. ::: tillS leg. Imagme that you have a line down the
center of your body, dividing tins side containing the issue from
the other side ofyour body.
C) Identify each Side as different, separate, and present in the
respective hand and the respec[Jve side of your body. Experience
the extent of the no-will condmon that has existed between these
antagonist for so many years, with each side belieing that it held
the key to success and that the other side wrong. Hmzc also
I/Jat el/J side /ras alwys /rad a sitglepositive mlliiott--to pralnl you
151

152
Part J:Aplll Niluri BrilliaNe
tlrar rOIl (Quid Iiii YOllr lit tfiVt'ly.
D) InvIe a sense ofche peacemaker 11110 yourse Imaglllc. like
the Geneva Convention, a peace table. where these opposing
forces communicate with each other. Invite a diaiob'Uc between
the present negatives you WJnt to eliminate and the future
negatJves you want to avoid. in which each side Icarn fom the
other to balance and harmonize your life.
] At a rate determined by your ability to let go and intcb'Tate the
learing of these previously opposed world views, IIltcgr.tc the
sides of yom body by bringing :u hands together. As the palms
ofyollr hands press each other lightly. notice the fclt shift
throughout your hands. arms, f1CC. body, and leg. Notice a new
sensation and a new image. and feci a new rt"ourceful symbolic
object now resting in the cup of your hands.
Then, to complete the imegration. cradle this new symbolic
resource over the cemer ofrollr chest, and with a deep inhale,
breathe mof these resources into you. As you do, imagine all this
lear fm your m history all the energy associated with this
issue, now fully integrated and available to YOll, aligned for the
purpose ofhclping you accomplish your highest good i l.
Execiu J:mrmudtrBt1Iiu
In mpart of the exercise you will imagine the poLu OppOSlttS of the
same issue m your respective hands. TI time you will represent how
each side has been oper.mng successfully to get you what you wam m
life; 1 other words, you w represent all the benefts. In each hand you
vplace the experience of behaviors associated With thi s issue :::which
you CUIId approprialely, }ll liked yur r(su/I, alld yOIl ("ded lip lI'ilh II,e febllgs
yOIl IIled. Look at the Items on the t pages to evoke the sensatons of
the t quadrants.
Again, clearly ident each side as diff erent, separate, and present in 1tS
respective side of your body and brain. Place the prest'1/f Iwsilil)fs where
the present negatives had been; place thejillllre posiliVt's where the future
negatives had been. Then, bring your hands together. HeI" IS the script
for how to integrate the present and future poSitives:
A) Looking at the benefits you have put 011 your prese'" poswws
page. experience the positive thmb'S that you want to keep 1
place. U your creative imagillation to place the pres('1It POSlliLS
into the "present" hand. ImagLne all the cOllsequences of the
Gttratt \,, Huh to Pj'rsu"al Gtni"s: Tt Nlw Oplion GI''lrator
benefts, with a their associated rewards-as they look, sound,
and feel. Now umgllle holding in your hand an object symbohc
of athe present benefit you want to keep.
A you lI11agllle tillS symbo l ic object in your hand, notice what It
looks like and feels like; its size. shape, weIght, density, texture,
temperature, color. Pay special attemion to the edges of it. Is It
angular or rounded, rough or smooth? Are there any sounds
a ted wLth this object? imab>ne that YOli can feel tmobject not
only i thiS hand. but in marm. shoulder, M this side of your body,
this side of your face, chest. abdomen, pelvis. thigh, in this leg.
Imagine that you have a line down the center of your body dividing
the side comaining the issue fm the other side of your body.
B) Looking :H all the benefts you have pm 011 your ji,wre posilitJs
page, experience the positive things yOll will achieve when you
accomplish your desire. Usc your creative imaginaton to place all
thejillure positiv('s into the ';future" hand. Imagine all the
consequences of the benefts. with atheir associated I"Cwardsas
they look. sound, and feel when they come to fruition.
ow imagine holding in your hand an object symbolic of all the
future positiws you wmto achieve. As you imagine this symbolic
object myour hand. notice wh.u it looks like and feels like-its
size, shape, weight. denSity, texture. temperature, color. Pay special
attention to it surface. l. it angular or rounded, rough or smooth?
^there any sounds assoclJted With tillS object? Imagine that you
can feci it not only :i tlus haud but q this arm. shoulder. in
rhis side of your body, thiS Side of your face, chest. abdomen,
pdvi, thigh. in thiS leg. imagme that you have a line down the
center of your body, dlVidmg tlus Side conL"ining the issue from
the other side of your body.
C) Identif each side as different, separate, and present in the
respective hand and the respective side of your body. Experience
the extent of the no-win condition that has exlsted between the
antagonistS for so many years, wi th each side believing that it held
the key to success and your belicving that you couldn't have both.
Rea/i. a/so thaI ead, side iu: allmys had a sil/l positiV miHiOlt-1O
(ompel YOII 10 lrw YOllr life dtiloely.
D) Invite a sense of the peacemaker into yourself. A. at the
Geneva Convention, :|11Qmca peace table, wher these opposing
forces communicate with each other. Invite a dialogue between
153
154 Pi'" J:Apply No/uml Hrilliatlet
[he present positves you w.tnt to keep and the ftun: positives you
want to achieve, i n which each side learns from the other to
balance andharmonize your l.
E) At a rate dctcnnincd by your ability to let gand integrate the
learning of these previously opposed world views, integrate the
Sides of your body by hrinbg your hands together. As the palms
of your hands press each OIher lightly, notice the felt shift
throughomyour hands, arms, face, body, and leg. Notice a new
sensation and a new image, and feel a new resourceful symbolic
object in rhe cup of your hands.
Then, to complete the integration, cradic this lIew symbolic
resource over rhe center of your chest, and with a deep inhale,
breathe all of these mources into yOll. ^ you do so, imagine all
this learing from your life history, all the eneq associated with
this issue, now fully integrated and avlable to you, ali6'lled for the
purpose ofhelpingyou accomplish \Ourhighest good in life.
Note: Afer doing Exercises I . 2, and 3, a tremendous amount of
learning continues to take place at an other-than-conscious levd.
Some people lleed to rest for a few minutes or take a nap before
contnuing. Others mneed to sleep longer for a couple of nights.
Some people report that they get ';the munchles"-aneed to eat
some "brfood." At least, take a bak and dm a glass of water.
Ext:ist 1: Engagt Direct uarlillg
A) Select fvebooks that offer knowledge and drelatedto your
life issue. Three ofthem should be dlcdy related to the topic;
t, metaphorically or indirectly related. (Ae Chapter Uon
Direct Ledg)
(3) For each book, establish a clear purpose, get into state, and
IhOtOI`cad. `ou can stay ill state to Photolad all the books at
once, or you cal break state between books and do fve separate
PhotoReading sessions. In either case, I consider it essential that
yOll affi rm your specific statement of purpose before
Photo Readingeach book.
You can consider modifying your purpose statement slightly
before each book to ensure )'our mind undersunc the relevance
of each book to your overall outcome. For example, if your Issue
i s overcoming procrastination to achitve success in business, you
might choose books on decision-makmg, motivation, and time
Gerltrale Your Puth fO Ptrsorlal Gtrliu!: 111t Ntw Opfion Gtntrafor
management. For one book you might say, "I desire the
information 111 this book to assist me in taking quick action on
decisions." For the next you might w "I desire the informatonin
thiS book to enhance my motivation and wise use of my time
dUring the work day."
C) If you like, spend m to ffeen minutes explorng each book
comciously. lxplorlng gets the bram started on the process of
lInkmg your nund's new IIlner knowledge base with your body's
responses to achJcve your goal. Over the next several days and
weeks, notice positive behavioral changes appearing
spontaneously III your hfe.
Exerciu5: Siml/faft FlulIN alld Clllmge Hiw
A) Using your creative imagillation, take yourselfinto the future
and experience how the new choiccs and behaViors \ou desire
operate in your life. Play 'oas if" you arc cxpericncing a future
situation and enjoy achicving thc ,'SuIts you dcs:rc.
0) Continuing to play 'oas if," imagine the successful operation of
these new patters of thinking, feeling, andbehaving in your
present life ClfCumStanCl'S (or in the recent past of no more than
three months). A with all creative imagery, be sure to involve m
your physical senses Vividly. Include seeing, hearing, and feeling
what It IS like to enjoy being in the experience of your success.
C) Finally, lnagme how your life would have been in the past,
assullllllg all of these new choices had been flly available to you
back five years ago. Simulate fuUy that these new patterns are
being usedby yu in this situaton in yourpast andhow you enjoy
the success ofaccomplishing your desired results.
Consider briefy how your present life is diffcn:nt, given that you
exercised all those choices fve ycars ago.
Also consider how your future, I\vc or ten years from 10W, is
differem, given all those choices were fully available to you fve
years ago,
Exerdje 6:Take ti,e uartling Challenge
During the Natural Urilliance retreat, participants g outdoors onto
the "ropes course" to enter a physically and emotionally challenging
learning opportunity. Here the partiCipantS experience 'Ohlgh
perceived risk, lowactual ri sk" learning challen6C.
I55
!56
At a retreat I was faced with
walking across a plank of wood 25
feet in the air. I was overcome with
fear. I then recalled what I had
learned at Natural Brilliance
pretend the plank is lying on te
ground. The terror subsided, and I
virtually danced across the plank to
the other side.
Chris Payn!, Managing Director
lifeTools. ltd
England
Part l:App/} Nafurul lrillianu
For anyone outide the Natura) Brllhance rerat, generally speaing,
life delivers enough experiential challenge to activate what we have
leared. For example, in this book I have referred to joining Toast
masters and being on TV as my Wto confint stuck sc rcgardlllg
pub l ic speaking. Do the thing that yu fear most, where it is safe for you
to raiL This gives you a scenario or"high perceived risk. low <lemal risk."
To illustrate this step, I will describe the tasks we do in the Natural
Brilliance course.
A) Select a challenge or learning initiative that brinb' up the
oscillation associated With your life issue. Describe how the
physical challengt-such as my expenence on the pamper pole-
rcpn:sems a metaphor for your paradoxical life issue. Do your best
to re-experience the full extent of the no-win situation in your
body as you describe the metaphor.
0) With a partner, and if needed with a safety facilitator, pla1 your
personal challenge.
C) Before begirming the m:naovc, release your need to control the
oUtcome of [he life issue. Rlease any unnecessary tension !mm
your body. Increase your sensitivity to the world within and
around you. Enter a curious, open state of mind and body so that
you can notice whatevcr happens a you respond [0 the challenge
of the initiative.
D) Afterward, de-brief the experience with your partner.
Describe your insights and the ways your body and mind
responded to achieve the outcomes you produced. Explore how
these Ulsights can help you achieve the result you desire.
Exrdst 7: KTrackojYearAcile"'t"U
The Natural Brilliance model guides you to learn mm cxperlence
and integrate your new skills and knowledge as you go. Expenence
always teaches most powerfully and honestly, but we do not always get
the message consciously. Each day of the Natural Brilliance retreat,
participantS take time to exanune what milestOne they have reached in
their experience. They receive feedback each da regrdllg whether or
not they a living "on purpose."
YOli can av ut the transfer of expenential leamlllg intO your awareness
by consciously witnessing your achuemcms and keeping track of them.
Here are some of the ways:
Gt"rralt Your Path to P"'$o"a/ Gt"ius: T.t NtU 0p,ion G,,.trulor
Joural your achie\'ements. Record the selflimi(ing beliefs you
have released, and notce the choices )'QU now perceive. Recognize
the new responses you have been making and the learg yOll are
witnessing.
At work. notice how your choice of new optons brings success.
Meet weekly-evell monthly-with a partner to integrnte your
life's experience and stay on purpose.
Mmd Illap what happened t you regrding this life. If you a not
familiar \\th mind mapping, b(1ply take notes on your e"enence
so that yOll document a chronology of key eventS and highlight your
personal responses.
Commit to yourself or to your partner to exhibit your Natural
Urilliance in aLara of your life as y:ucontinue to lear ucm your
experience and gain the skills YOLL need for success.
Dream. and interpret how yOUT dreams apply to yur achievements.
Dreams can provide useful information about internal changes
taking place. Dare to dream about the greater potential you can
reahze.
Draw, sculpt, compose, write a poem, or dance [Q express
your achievement.
Summary
Play with the New Option Generator to break through your lmutatlons.
DISCover the e of l i ving in !urmollY with your l's pu.
The universe w"YES" to you. What question v you ask? What
gaIsvyou seek? How much pleasure call you tolerte? How much
joy do you want?
You can, yOll know, accomplish more once you have stopped
osclllatillg. The New Option Generator aligns your lIlteral and
external energies. Itensures an effortless patn to sliccess in areas of life
where you lIlay have been stuck in the past. The more you play and
explore, the more you will experience and lear. Leag is the surest
way to Iease your genius and lct your Natural Brilliance shine!
!57
I've noti learning to trust my
inner mind takes about six
en(ounters. lf I'm going to teach
someting in public. I like to have
about six rehearsals with it before I
feel comfortable. In teaching
myself a foreign language, I found
six exposures to it seemed to make
the difference. Although I think a
single exposure is enough for the
mind to record it, it takes about six
exposures or exrien(es before
the trust in our ability to learn it
will become strong.
Peter Kline, Chairman of the Board
of Integra Learning Systems
Sta
y
on Track
CongratulatIons on reconnecting with your Natural Brilltance. On
your palll to success, Narural .rilliance releases the fullness of your
personal genius widl each step you take. Along the way to achieving
your goals. you will discover new capacities and reveal brilliant new
strategies yOll llcver knew before. Your receptivity, generativit)', and
persistence will stren,thcn each day, glvmgyou the power to venture
well beyondyour pn:\'IOUS iimitcions.
Any journey outside of your comfort zone is 110t without its perils. [
expect that your path will take you into uncharted territories. This
chapter is written to give you some hint of what you may encounter
along the way. As difcult as your path may become. take solace i n
knowingyour :Hural UriUiance \| tlluminate even the dark'St places.
Let me share n)personal experience as example.
During Illy development of the Natural Brilliance course, I gathered
nineteen people from around the country to panicipate in a weekend
workshop. Late Samrday night wewere scheduled to go nightwalking.
As I described in Chapter b,nightwalking lIlvolves walking in the dark
ofa Illoonless mght through the countryside.
Afterdoing some exercises on howto walk with full awareness, we
w3lkeddown a park road for ten minutes to get a feelingfor the process.
We donned our nightwalking hats, replete with a luminescent bead at
the end ofan eighteen-inchrod attached to the brim. The beadgives us
a ncar focal pomt that promotes PhotoFocus for everything in the
distance and around us. The nmeteen people followed me at a slow,
steady, in succession about ten paces one behind the other. When
we arrived at the tralihead for the I1Ightwalking experience, loffered
severl fnal pointers about relaxation and trust.
I s,ld, "If there art no questions, let's lllle tip and do It! First person,
You mustbeo to eing
that is happening and Ii.... in that
calmspaceoftotal claritywhen
everyone aroundyou is screaming
-Hidel Run! Saeam! Onlywhen
youaretotallyopen will youb
ableto senset ettiretyo t
situation, grasp itin i fullness in
thatspacewithinyou that hasall
the time you needto take the
uactly appropriate action to
discover the exactly elegant
solution tothe interesting pfOblem
infrontof you...
froman induction usedto train
special operatives in dose quarter
battle
MarcusWynne
Trainingdesignerand consultant
specializingin aitical skill retention
under stress

I60

Port J:Apply Nu/ur<! Brillianu

followme to the trailhead," With complete confidence 1 strode across a
seventy-fve-foot clearing to the start of the two-mile forest trail.
Suddenly [ realized I at the opening In the woods where the path
beg, but I absolutelycould not see a blasted thing. The shock of being
completely blind with nineteen people belllnd me caused mylimbs to
stiff en. With haltng,jer" movementmy feet grped for the m i rhe
abysmal blackness.
hlSl:mtly, seven hundred excuses raced through my mind 011 how to
get out ofchis disaster. Forget the fact that this was the event most of the
people had been waiting for; I could nOt see anything! This was not
b'ingto work!
Just as quickly as [ had panicked, the calminner voice of genius spoke,
"Your brain can do this, Paul. Trust the process."
"Yes!" I thought. "Rc:e. Notice the bead. Walk on."
Consciously I had no idea if I were waIking into a tree or into the
thicket next to the path, but, miraculously, I moved in perfect rhythm
and absolute balance. \ilh each step my inner mind became more
aware
.
more precise; my breathing, deeper and more relaxed. I witnessed
a complete transformation froma tentative, halting, unsure Step, to a
long, condent, evenstide.
Afer the successful nighnvalkingexperience. stories fomparticipants
were wonderful, but no storymore profound to me than myown. I
went from total oscillation to success almost instantly. Instant
transformation fomstuck state to heightened leag state is exactly
what I oferyouin this book. Totest it. you must gon in yourownm
with a passion to learn and a commitmenl to succeed.
Most people WIU blame somethg else or someone else for their
hmitations and obstacles. If you lay blame. you are sure to lose power and
stay stuck. If you choose toown your part in the process of gettingstuck,
you will increase power and propel yourselfto success. \hen you fully
accept that there are no failures, only olltcomes, you banish the need to
blame. Shame vanishes; ego and pride have no role. Focus the gn:at
talents you possess through the model ofNatural Brilliance, andyou v
make the most ofyour life each day.
This chapter presents ways for you to Stay on your path to success,
even when you are blinded by limitations. Obstacles and limitations are
built into the very design of our neurophysioIOas vra the culture i
which we were raised. The most common ofthese limiting barners
were described in JamCs Adams' book COIIUI'tllal Blockbustillgand are
Slay Uf Trck
shared 111 the sections of this chapter [hat follow. I invite you to
overcome the IUlllt<tIOIlS that may bl blinding you to vast resources at
your disposal Use the Ideas below to stay on track to success and
accelerteyour pr .
See What You Cannot See: Overcome Perceptual Barriers
Our sensorys}'Stemsand brainare designed to workveryquickly. The
br.tlrecogniles pancrllS. We tend t see what we expect to see and then
focus narrowly on what we ecogni<e. When you have difculty
1solating a problem. tk these measures:
Usemof your sensorysystems to explore your envirorunent, i nside and
outside of you. Explore what is going all from various viewpoints, and
noice more of the lIlformatiOll that is available on the surface. As anyone
sensory system gets s1tur:ncd and habituated. keep >^itching the wayyou
arc perceiving. Change your state and keep lxploring. Become curious.
Feel the Fear: Overcome Emotional Blocks
You don't like to (
.
,il any marc than I do. Most of us tught early in
bfe to Illiumize or avoid failure and maximize success. This leads to a
low tolerance for ambigLtlt), a fear of failure, no appetite for chaos, and a
compulsion to succeed qUickly. Consequently. manyof us fnd it easier
tojudge someone else's newideas than to generate ideas on our on.
Develop the abIlity to relax and sleep on your problems. Generate
ideas. all the better tfthey veer off track. They will lead you to access
more ofyouf imagInation. As yOll gain facility in using your
Imag1l1a[ioll, paradoxically, you will also develop the ability to distin
guish reality fromfantasy.
In my classes, I often hear adult students say, " Oh, I'm no good a[
puzzles:' Stepup t the challenge of problem-solving rather than giving
up before you start. Il is okay to feel strong dark emotions while you aTe
learning something new. Fear, anger. and sadness quite common in
the classroom. If you repress them. they persist. If you feel them, you can
1110ve past the emotional woundingthat fnt put themthere.
On the other side ofthe wound waits a fantastically creative part of
your personahty that grewdIscouraged years ago. When you let yOllr
creativeself Ollt. you unleash enormous power to transformyour life for
thebest.
I6I
162 Port J:pp|y Noturo| Brl|iortce
Question It: Overcome Cultural Barriers
Part ofche American culture, the part th:l grewout of our pioneer
beginninb'S, emphasizes rules, taboos, logic, and respect for hierarchIes
andtradition. That mle-ridden part of our culture dismisses fantasy and
refection as a waste of tlme, playflness as somethmg only for children,
and problem-solvingas seriOUS busme5S in which humor hno place.
For Natural l3rilliance we must revel in our feclings and our intUItion.
Celebrate pleasure and playfulness as the best rules of all. 1 encourage
you [0 use meditation and humor, do morc with less, and question
traditional tbofor wluchno validbases exist.
Tell Them How It Is: Overcome Environmental Obstacles
How many times bave YOLL told your peers that you are learning
something new, like Photo Reading. only to hear them poo-poo your
enthUSiasm. Some of the most common derisions include: "You've got
to be kidding" and "Yeah, sure. lfit works for you, let me know; I'll tcst
you,"
Face it, lack of cooperation and trust is marc common than support
for new ideas. People who work in a team environment recognize the
autocrat who only values his own ideas and rarely rewards anyone else's
contributions.
What can be done? In the Star Wars trilogy, apprentice Jedi knight,
Luke Skywalker, d he would neverJom Darth Vader, even if Vader
were his father. But, in the end, Luke did risk his life to fnd the good III
the evil Oarth Vader. Join the campaign to release the inner genius in
thosearound you. Be patient and persistent Withyurself and them.
When you witness others trying to put down your attempts for a
bettcr world, look for the fear that drives their knee-jerk behaVIOrs.
Realize we are all in this world IOgether. Together we can fnd a way to
resolve the problems that keep 1and our orgamz300ns stuck.
Overcome I ntellectual and Expressive Barriers
Is It possible to think tOO much? An article published 1 the
Wtsli irlgtot, Post titled "Reasoned Choice Is Not Always Right" by
Malcolm Gladwell says "Yes." The article summarized many studies
fromthe feld of cognitive psychology that showed rational thinking
leads to decision-making we maylaterregretand that thinking tOO much
Sta) 7f Trck
can lead to ChOiCCS that, by objectve srand.rds, are bad.
People tend t solve problems with infexible or inadequate strategies
based on too few facts or on inaccurate information. Using the processes
outlined in Chapter 1 1 : Approach Paradoxical Problems wirh Creafive
Prblelll-Solving, and Chapter I2: Qneratl \r Hul ro Ponal Lmiu.1 c
mOptioll Cl erator, you expand your repertoire of problem-solving
skills and overcome the ITlteliectual and expressive barriers to creativity,
learing, and success.
Beware the Invisible Barrier
The most insidious of all the obmclcs on your Natural Urilliance path
to success is one that you cannot see, hear, or feel. Tllis obstacle i s olle of
the most phenomenal forces i nhuman experience, yet the least
recognized. Used correctly, this force has the power to restore a quad
ripl:gic to health. Used incorrectly, it carries a death semence. It is the
power of hypnotic infuence.
Earlier in thIS book 1 wrote of my introduction to human
developmem technologies when 1 trained as a professional hypnotist.
From the very beginning lrecognized that the professional hypnotist
knows things about duecting the powers of mind that mOSt people will
never di scowr.
The three Illost important trance phenomena used by stage hypnotist
are actually operating continuously to l imit the quality of your life right
now. but you probably do not know them. These phenomena include
amnesia, hallucinating that something exists, and hallucinating that
sometlung docs not exist. When you understand how these trances limit
your life, you can break their hypnotic control over you and expand your
choices almost inuneruate1y.
A former stage hypnotist originally tramed me in hypnosis. Since
then, [ have studied the work of several stage hypnotists, incJudll1g my
friend Paul McKenna from England, the world's foremost hypnotic
celebrity. The stage hypnotist'S secret lies in directing your perceptions.
Here' how.
Hypnotists gain your compliance with a set ofinstruCtlons lIlvolving
concentration and Il1aglilation. A5 you follow their instructions, the
hypnotists bypass the critical faculty of your conscious mind. Then, they
get your inner mind to wrap around a compelling idea using
imaginaton and artfully crated sugestion.
163
164 Part J;Appl) Nalllrtd Brilfitmu
More than anything else, professional hypnotists understand that the
!lundwi ll carry Ollt any instruction It believes [Q be true. So they deliver
their suggestions with enormous congruence and chansmatlc,
authoritative, compellingbelief. They give thelf subjects 110 oppornllllty
to doubt or [ imcect ally negatingbdief
People in tr:mcc maybe instructed that they have no memory orthe
number fve or that they cannot remember tbc uow:name. Notice how
similar those suggestions arc to the self-lllllltmg sugestions ''1'111 JUSt no
good with Illnbers" or "[ am tcrnble with math" or "['ve never been
good with names; never remember your name + Those ncgatl vc
Statements about self make usc of the same trance phenomenon that
produces amnesia. StOP [Q consider the Illogic of those statements; If we
have perect brains with an infinite memorstorage capacity, why should
we ever forget anything?
A trance subjenv accept the sLlgg"Stion that a person standing next
to themcannm be seen. Even if the ptSOn stands in front of thesubject,
the subject has no ability to see the person. The person can speak and
thesubject hears but has no Idea where the voice is COll1l1lgfrm. Thmk
ofhowwe lose the keys we havejust set down, as we busily tell ourselves
" I can't believe this! I just set them down. and 1 can't find them
anywhere!" We induclllg the phenomenon of negative hallucinaton.
Similarly, on the hypnouhts suggestion, a person &trance v believe
spiders are crawling a over the chair and leap up III ftlght, fra1tically
brushing oO'imaginary spiders. Have ycL everpicked a crawlingtick off
your leg, only to spend the next twenty minutes buggy as can be,
imagilllng a multitude ofinsects craw l ing all over you? InuglilingIIlsects
makes lise of the sallie phenomenon the hypnotisr uses-positive
hallucination, imaginmgsomething s present that doc^ not exist.
The b'Od news s that these powerof hypnosis can be turned [Q your
use. Use amnesia to forgel the hmIOnonofyour past. Iiallucinate that
blocks have vanished that have been a part of your personali ty.
Hallucinate that vast newpowerof mind are nowfully available to you.
In other words, one wayto IIlstamybreak thetranceof stage hypnotist
or the self-Imllnng, self-negating trances Ihat ha"e controUed your life IS
to: yourselfwhat you can do.
The power of what people L do has been reverberating through the
ages: "As a man thinketh in his hean. so is he:' Theplulosopher Goethe
put it: "Are you i n earnest? Seize this veryminute! Whal you can do or
dream you can, btgin It. Boldness has gcmus povcr and magic 1 it.
Slay on Track
Only engage and then the nllnd grows heated, begin it, and then the
work will be completed." No more awesome power on earth exists than
the power of ICople who belie\'e in rhemseho.
Over the years, I have met people offaith who realize that Ihe
animating force in their hves is a power gre'ter than they consciously
wield-the power of God. l lowever they may cOllceptualize this power,
they hold that Ihe limitalions oflhe conscious mind are nOI the full
extent of the possibilities 111 their m.
Whal I am referring to here is somethll1g better and mort powerful
than hypnOSIS. Hypnosis was the power used by schools and society to
install many of the self-negating Irances that run your life. You can
instmtly overpower the force of negatve lrances thai haw worked against
you all your life. Rrl tIIIhr rl" mllll comyou.
The truth about you is that you arc a gel11us. You have magnifcence
btyond what anyone can ever predict about you. Each day that you
believe u:your great capacities. youv lear to release the limitatons of
),our past, nOlice the new choices available to you, respond in creative
Wto change your mfor the better, and wimess yourselflearg how
to Late the results you desire.
You have been, and always will be, a natural. life-long learner. For
youscIcocwho chooses a high guality l i felhe progressive
reahzatlon of Success always beckons you forward. You have Natural
Bri lliance, so let it shine on!
l65
Stop; lei go. Recognize what fI H
you marvelous and @m
of wl you focus on.
Rex Steftn Sikes
Founderof IDEASe
Activate Your Natural Brilliance Day
You cannot get strongerby joining a health dub. You 1M get stonger by
wordll,l Oil! at a health club. Similarly, YOli cannot overcome stuck state
and discover your genius by merdy purchasing this book. You call
activate your N:nurai Brilliance by ,uillg what you lear and giving your
mind and body clear direction for success today.
Oy now, some powerful shifts in your life should have come with
remarkable ease. In ('ct, if following ucsteps of the Natural Brilliance
model ever beconudifcult. it is be1 you getting coto your
breakthrough. ehngs of confusion serve a signs oflearning indicating
that you are nCUi1g newlevels of ;v, arcncss and posirive newchoices.
In the Natural Brilliance ftreat I unleash a certi levd of confusion
when I ask participants to define the life issue they want 10 break
through. As soon as their brain attempts to pin down a paradoxical
problem, they begin to oscillate. I see the conflsion instantly. R.ight on
cue their hands go up. They start voicing doubt. Theyare not sure they
know the FLproblem. Of course, they cannOt fully know the "al
problem, and paradoxically dwelling on understanding the na problem
only throws [he brain into greater oscillation.
The entire field of psycholob' has struggled with this seemingly
irresolvable di lenuna. Psychologists doing feld research have vowed to
use thc scientc mcthod to study the working ofthe mind. We have an
experimental pardigi which the subject i s srudying the subject-the
mind studying the mind is like looking at a continuous loop tape
or llobius strip tryUg to fgure out where it starts and ends. The mind
will always influcnce the outcome of its own cxperiment. creating
mrute recunilVity.
A a facilitator. I can see the craziness ofa person entering their own
loop and looking for the beginnmgand the end. The participants cannOt

168
It takes (ourage to grow up and
tum out to be who you really ar ..
MMcummings
Pmt J; Apply 1alu(1 BrillitmCt
fnd the way out-at least not mlllg the same tg tht' used to create
theIr stuck states. Arter a short t1C, their confusion leads some
particIpants to feci enormous frustration. It is quite evident that the
more desperately tbey wn to rid themselves of their current problems,
the morc tenaciously the trap chng to them. They can babble endk'Siy
about their problem. but talk is cheap. I n my programs I evoke
experience. Tiking ab(lt experience is not experienc,
Put your fngers into a Chinese fnger puzzle and try as hard as YOli
can to extract your fngers by pullng. You cannot. Try talk1llg about
how much you want to get nd of the trap. Your fngers still stay stuck. If
you read lilis book and t [Q fgure out your problem without dOing the
exercises I have offered, you have an even bigger problem than yOll
bargained for, I 3m not ther( with you to facilitate your learing and
evoke alterative responses.
TEST: If you are working hard at trying to make Natural UnHiallce
\ork for you, and you arc getting no result, you arc doing It wrong.
RMEDY: PI cannot e\'okc your experience, you will have to do H
for me. Here is how. Go back to e\'Cry section of mbook you found
difcult and every page you wanted to argue about or brush aSide. In
those sections dues for your breakthrough. Follow e--ry suggestion
l affer, especially those you arc convinced will nor benefit you; do
everything you are absolutely convinced you do not need to do: be
everything you arc convinced you do not have to be; feel all the feelings
you claim you never feel. When you start oscillating--:ld [ guarantee
yOll will-when YOll hit yOllr stuck state: R1ease! Then Nonce; then
Respond; then Witess. That IS athere IS to it.
You ::wh; heard the Story of the successful busiuessman who
asked about me key to msuccess. He replied, 'Success IS the result of
wise decisions. \ise decisions are the result of experience. l.xpenence IS
the r<.'ult of poor decisions."
Management expert TOIl1 Peters wrote in hu syndicated column "For
Executiv(' Only" the following gem: "Life is not about serenely walking
down the middle of spick-and-span streets. [t's about vcerlng to and m,
bouncing off the bl rdrails, then overcorrcctillg. But yu call't correct a
course until you've taken to the road."
He continues with (\ provocative questons: " When will we learn
to honor error? To understand that goofs are the only way to step
fOf\ ard, that rally big goof are the only \\!ay t leap fOfrd?"
Natural Brilliance is a model for experiential learmng, but, to have
Actil'llt YOllr Nafural Briffiallct Daify
experience, we must be W g to wnture Out of the comfortable range
of ChOICl' to which we have become accustomed. Living mflly ofTers
the best vto have rich experiences, Life experience creates the 1lI0St
abundant form oflearg opportunity. Get out beyond the StOp signs
and respond to uu' Then witness the ll1agmfcent learing you gain in
the proces.
The subtitle of this book could be " "'I'li yir meetyur gnu'us tire
rod, l()tlt' l!You vfind eidence of your genius in your own behaVIr
i f you Will simply witness it. When you fnd It. love it; Temforce It; afrm
It; encourage It. Stuck states are evidence of past leanung based all fear
and n:pression. You create today and all your fture days as you respond
efTecti\'ely. llIoment by moment. to purposeful choices based on what
you \.lllt.
Illlr do yoii ui!: That u the question. YOli will activate your Natural
Brilliance today each time you actively, purposefuUy choose your
response. , am not talking about instant manifestation of new relation
srups. mcome. business, a new hallSC. or cars. [ mean that you Will create
what you slIlcerely set your !lund upon. ^you drive fear out of your life
and minimize the wild w g of oscillatIon, you increase your power
t mamfest your desires. Natural Brilliance shows you how.
My sincere desire is that you find your genius today and embrace
it. Do all that you can today to live rour hfe on purpose. Your good
will surely come.
169
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Appendix: Advance Yur Skills-
Tips from the Natural Brilliance Retreat
Take New Routes to Release
Over [he years ofsrudyingand practicing various forms of relaxaton,
I have found a number ofhclpful aids, tools that can facilitate the process
of Release.
Training in comemplativt prayer and meditaton is a centuries-old
path of wIsdom inhow to relax the body-mind to attune (0 higher level
of mental and physical functioning. These arc primarily cognitive
(thinking) and affective (feeling) approaches [0 relaxation. However,
cJchsystemI hvsrudicd emphasizes posture: prayerful ,yogic
asauas (postuns), Zen sittng, and other techniques for stlling the body.
More active routes include various manial arts. Every session of
Aikido, for example, begins with a contemplation of the reachers who
havecome before you. In themovementofTai Chi. the mind andbody
move | rlaxed harmony fe fnmmental or physical tension of any
kind. In the Sufi tradition, the "whirling dervishes" enter an inner
stillness and ecst.tic release by twirting vigorously. Hatha-yoga can be
extremely vigorous physically. yet every element revolves around the
prmCipie of rnunnecessary physical and mental tension.
Aside from specifc physical or mental disciplines, a number of
modern electronic [Dols help the process of rlease. At the simplest level,
a tape player with a rcording ofenvironmental sounds or relaxngmusic
can dowonders. Maclunes that generate "white noise" soothe the mind
and screen out unwanted sounds that may generate tensIOn. Many
dentists and ortl surgeons offer patent a cilolce of rcordings to distr:lct
the mind frolll the procedures.
Biofeedback machines are somewhat more sophisticated and
expensive, yet they are marvelous tools for relaxation. These are
electronic monitoring devices that give information about changes in
172 N,"mil Brilli",u
the body or bralll. The adv:mtage to biofeedback tr:Ulllllg i sthat It mk
subtle infrmation obvious to you consciously, thereby letting yuknow
uyour changes in behavior makmg a diference.
Electroencephalograph biofeedback (EEG) measures the electrical
outpUt of dle brain. Data from an EEG tells you the frequency of the
brain waves you produce. You call learn to wllly produce br.un wt
that are associated with states of deep meditatIOn and learng.
[ put on an EEG monitoring device and began PhotoReadmg. The
COlllputcr 1I11lllcdiatcly registered a decrease in conscious, analytical
br.un wave patterns and a correspondmg fise in deep iearmog br:lll wave
panerns. What an amazing thing to see graphically displayed all the
computer screen. It convincingly demonstrated to me the power of
traimng to get nlto state for lcarnillg.
One other IIseful tool I have expcrimemed wi th extensively is known
generically as a Sound and Light device. These machines give a light
impulse through small lights in a sct ofgoggles and a tonc pulse through
headphones. The sound and light pulses <Ire delivcn:d to the brain at
cemlln fquencies, associated with different states of consciousness.
For example. the machine can help you get into a state of high
creativity for visualization. It can help you enter an ideal state for
learmng. relaxaton, CV.'n sleep. Simply punch in the programyu want.
put on the gear, and sit back.
Two Paraliminal tapes, 1O-Aliullle Supm/lmger and Deep Rellxllfioll,
v help you dC"'lop states of laxation and teach you how to qUIckly
release any tensions from your body and mind. USlIlg the IO-Minute
Supercharger. you will eter a physically relaxed tate withlll two
!lUllutes ofbegmll1ng the tape. Then the pr guid( you through
deep mental relaxation equivalent to a half-hour nap, without the
hangover. R&1t in ten lllinutes flat!
With the Drep Rlaxatioll tape. the longest of any Paraliminal tape, you
develop a profoundly relaxed state of body and mmd. Along with the
rejuvenating beneft of deep relaxation. the tape encourdges optim.ism
and control o\er your mlld and body. One unique aspect of this upe IS
that you have a choice at the end about whether you will awaken or not.
If you want to slide fom relaxation into deep sleep, }'u can. The [ape
offers you the option of returning fully alert now or continuing the
process of deep relaxation for as long as yOli desire.
By the Vgoing to sleep refrhed instead ofbone-ured aoyou
to gmore beneft fom your sleep. You will lend to awaken far more
AppmJix: Ad't"t YoutSkillsTps.m tke Na,ural Brillia"u Rtfr'
refhed in the morg if you do a relaxation exercise before sleep.
Take New Routes to Notice
Practice openmg your visual sense to notice useful information
around you. In Chapter 5, I described aiming high when driving. I
sugt"ted walking with a sof gaze II crowds. These techniques help to
open, strengthen, and balance your visual system, expanding its
capabilities to serve you.
Another easy-to-find device temendously increases noocing. It is the
3-D or Magic Eye poster. Seeing the pictures within a random-dot
stereogran puts you into : state ver similar to Photo Focus. It requires
that you diverge your eyes and simultaneously bring your focus to the
poster. You can achieve the efect by crossing your eyes as well. First, see
te illag while ivergillg your eyes. then see it for the same leu!,'th of
time while crosslIlg your eyes. The combination of playful exercise
foJlowe by relxation can strengthen your vi sual system sigifcantly.
Practlc hearmg mOT' of the sounds around and within yotl. Play with
the tc

hruqu and de\Clop your auditory sense to a high level of acuity.

Digital aud
i
O technology (OAT), now commercially available to the
consumer, can be used with stereophonic Illicrophones to record any
ponioll of your d1y as you \lk around. I use Sony's DAT Wlkman in
the Narural Drilliance retreat. Aer your "walkabout" when you listen
to the recording, you whear informacion that you did not consciously
perceive at the tillle.
playillg a experience is similar [Q what happens when people lose
their sense of Slgl ll. Suddenly. their hearing becomes aingly acute to
clIIpelue for the loss of the vu sense. Equivalent to removing the
f
light blinders, the DAT experiment awakens people from "[Unncl
listening." Listening to DAT in stereo and surround sound is like pulling
the ear plugs out of your neural circuit.
Another powerful technique, as simple as listening to a Paraliminal
tape, is "Panal listening." Thi s happens when you sit back and hear
two voic speakmg to you at the sallie time. It IS like l istenlllg to several
conversations at a party or restaurant at the same time. Known as the
"cocktail party" effect (not to be confused with the cocktail weenie
efect), the conscious mind attends the important information and weeds
out the unnecessary. A5 there is too much informaton for the limited
conscious mind to attend (0 the odler-than-conscious mind takes o .. . r.
173
174 NmumlBri|liancc
A Mmneapolis PhotoReadlllg graduate nallied Mary Iud conducted
university studies in fast listening twenty years before taking the
PhoroRcading course. Using a tape recorded lecrurc which he could
speed up, she had swdcnts l isten at faster and f:1_ter rates of speech. The
expcrnent demonstrated that as long as students su.yed relaxed and
aware, they could listen to speech that * completely unintelligIble to
someone who might JUSt happen to \alk in and hear it.
Interestingly, she Soid that m worked only jfthe students " stayed m
Stile," borrowing the term fm the PhowRading course. "If they ever
broke State during the speeding up and lost what ^ being said," Mary
explained. " they wer unable to make sense of it again."
A surprising effect for Mary came about in her mvn viSl1al processing
with PhotoRcading. Her ability to Super Read (an ACl\ation step in the
Photo Reading whole mind system) ws dramatically better than any other
ft-Dme PhotoReader i n ca . Could It be that fast li sccuing twenty years
earlier trained her i n fast comprehension strategil'S for readmg?
Here are some ways to sharpen noticing in the feeling dimension of
your expenellce.
Think of yourself as spirit or soul, inhabiting the form of your physical
body. The physical body is an energy field. (Research 111 sub-atomiC
physics wi] conm thi s for you, in case you have doubt.) You express
your thoughts-the product of spirit-in the world through your
phYSICal body.
Stuck States, at a subtle energetic level. can be perceived as Improper
or broken energy fows. Knowing where your stuck state exsts III your
physical body effectively re-dlrects the energy.
Thmk of seven ene'bY centers. defined from the Sanskrit terlll ("akra,
associated with the major clusters of nerve ganglia along the length of
your nervous system. The first center 15 at the base of the sp11le. The
second i s at the scarea. The third i s in the solar plexus and the fourth
near the physical heart center. The m is at the throat, the sxth on the
forehead between the eyebrows, and the se\llth at the crown of the head.
In the early work with resolving paradoxical problems. my partner
Mark Kinnich and I researched the yogic and Jungian psychological
issues or functions associated with the seven major chakras. When a
person has a stuck state regarding the behavioral continuum of giving
and receiving love, for example, it i s primarily associated WIth the fourth
cham. Resolving this issue can be assi sted by identing and balancing
the energies flowing through the fourth chakra.
pdi:HdmtoYottrSki TiptmtlteNatttrolBril|iaoRcrnot
To fnd OUt more about the chakra energy system and its connectiOIl
to p'ychological : iics, [ recommend two books: Yqa alld Psy{lJolhl'<p}
by SwamI Rama. Rudolf Ballentine, and bvmAJaya and Hallds ofLghl
by Barbara Urenan.
Strengthen the Body-Mind Connection: Go into State
Each monllng at the Natural Brilliance retreat. * begl11 with a series
f11l0ve1lle1H exercIses. These arc designed to increase Oexlbliity,
IIlVlgorate the body srngthen and energize the nervous S telll, deepen
breath111g, and dear rhe mind. The specific exercises used arc drawn
fr0111 several disciplines induding hacha-yoga, Tai Chi. Dr. Milton
Traeger (Menrasrics). Or. Moshe Feldenkrais (Awareness Through
Movc1l1ent), Dr. Paul Dennison (Bral11 Gym/Edu-K). and Pete Egoscue
(The Egoscue Method of Health through Motion).
People I11reresred III developlllg their NaturaJ Brilliance are well
advised to lise physical awareness and exercise < an integral pan of their
daily routines. A COllllllon misconcepnon u that life degeneratl' until
death. This means that aging opposes vitality. Yet experience shows that
proper breathmg, diet. exercise. and attitude lead to good health and
vitahty at any age.
&1'11 Luy: Ic Cumcr |+lu:ly a tape series by Gail Gregory, describl'
many W}( strengthen the body-m11ld connection. The six tape series
features helpfill advice and exerCiSes 011 the subjects of air and breathing,
water, sleep, exen:ise. diet, and the body-mind connection.
Assume Useful Postures
In the yoga tradition. physical or hatha-yoga has developed over the
cenwries to arouse the latent enerb'Y with1l1 by practice and perfection of
asanas (posmres) and pranayama (breath cOl1tol).
There arc two kinds of postures. those for meditation and those for
phYSical well-being. In m the postures suitable for breathing, con
centration, and mediation, the emphasis IS placed on keeplllg the head.
neck, and trunk erect. Tllis resulb 1 a steady and comfortable posture
wuh Jll1nimal production of carbon d1Oxide, thus slowing down the
actIVIty of the heart and lung. The mind is less disturbed by the body
and can be dted to concentration.
Other postures, which aim at phYSical wcll-belllg, comrol speCific
175
176 Naturo|Br||iance
muscles and nerves in the body andhave specifc therapeutc effects. Get
expert coaching on moring exercise routines, then experimcmwith
each for a week or two. The right sequence will wake up your body
mind in a gentle and effective Wy.
The hybridseries ofjoint andgland exercises. u chi movement, and
pOStures used in the Natural Brilliance reteat fowtogetherin a tvnty
minute sequence. This sequence allows me toroll out orbed, fop on the
floor, and begin with very low impact movements. It creates a perfect
start in my day. I fnd my routine essential to maintain a high level of
personal power during challengingdas ofteachlllg. public appearances,
andcreative writng.
The exercises stimulateJOUlts and glands from head to toC, releasing
the necessary biochemistrfor fexibility and movement throughout the
skeletal and muscular systems. They alsoincrease the depth and capacity
ofthe breath, a prerequisite for relaxed alertness. Finally, and perhaps
most importantly, they strengthen the nervous systemby increasing its
capacity to process information andrespondin the world.
The entire Natural Brilliance approach to personal power hinges on
cognitive, emotonal, and behavioral flexibility. Any strengthening ofthe
body-mind connection ultimately makes power available to fuel
experiential learning, choice, and successful action. To this end, I
encourage you to followa path of physical exercise.
Aerobic exercise is important for cardiovascular-vascular health. and I
make a pomt to work out at least three days a week. Yet, physical well
being isjust one part of the point I 1 making here. I a advocating a
set of physical exercises, which when taken together, contribute
advantages to overall well-being that cannot be achieved with aerobics
alone. An approach like the olle sugested above wmove deeply into
your cognitive and emotional \ell-being as ll, where the real paback
comes. Any time you spend in such disciplined physical practices will
reap many levels of reward to you. Imagine what great feelingyou will
generate each day that yOll strenb>then yourselfin naturallybrilliant ways.
After doing a sequence ofmovement, it is recommended that you
lie down briefy to relax the body and mind, then sit in a medmllve
posture. Fromthis posrure, alternate nostil breathing can be perormed
leading into a time of meditaton. I describe alternate nostril breathingin
the next section.
During the Natural Brilliance reteat, we bide participants through
meditation and imagery sessions. However, you should feel free t use
&J' o:d:uroYour5hi||Tipjm the Naturo| 8n'/anuRetna
any form ofmedItation, contemplative prayer, or mind programming
techniques thar suit your lifestyle and personality.
Breathe
In the Yoga tradlOon. afer masteryof postures comes the technique of
pranayallla. The Sanskrir wordprmtoyamu can be divided into the words
pntti.i and yumu, meaning breath control. Pranayama can also be
interpreted as rutiu and ayunu, meaning expansive, rising, or extensive
breath. So pranayama can be understood to be the science whereby the
fowof the breath umade more)tensive and expansive and this fowu
brought under contol.
The wordptutiuis composed oft words, pra and iiulmeansfrst
rmiI and nu means ritc_Described byyoga phil osophy, this frst unit of
energy is i n it atomic aspect in man, and the universe is its expansion.
ThIS means that the underlying energy in both humans and universe is
prana. Prana can be thought of as the sum toul of all energy that is
marfl'ted in humans and the universe. The ancient tradi tions of yog
scIence and philosophyholds that all sensations, all thinking, feeling, and
knowing are possible only because of prana.
The science ofpranayama is intmately connected with the fnctons
of the autonomic nervous system, and its techniques are aimed at
bringmg under COnsCIOUS control the functions of the autonomous
system. which are normally considered mvoluntary. Here is how the
Himalayan Institute of Yoga Science and PhIlosophy describes ie:
Breathuan external manifestation of the force of prana. I3reath
is thefywheel that regulates the entire machine ofthe body. JUSt as
the control of the nywheel of an engllle controls all other
mechanisms in it, so the control of the external breath leads to
conrrol ofthe gross and subtle, physical and mental aspects of our
hfe machine. A comprehensive knowledge of Pranayama is of
paramount importance i n the raja yoga (royal path of yoga)
tr.ditlon.
Many types ofpranayama exerises eXiSt, each for a specifc purpose.
Yoga teachers dum pranayama should be pr.cticed only under the
guidance of a guru or cOillpetent teacher. One breathing exercise that
may be practiced by everyone without ally danger is called "Channel
Purifcation" which purifes the subtle energy channels. This exercise
177
Any strength in the wrong context
can be a weakness.
178
Natural n,i1/iallct
should be done at least n.ce a day"n the moring and 1 the evening.
In the moring the exercise is done in the following manner:
!)Sit in a calm, qUiet. and air place in an easy and steady pmmre.
2) Keep the head, neck. and trunk straight and the body stll.
3) The right hand IS brought up to the nose, the mdex finger and
middle fnger bewg folded so that the right thumb can be lIscd [Q
close the right nosrtl andthe ring fnger can be used to close the
lef nostril.
4) Exhale completely through the IcC nostril, the right nostril
being closed ,th the right thumb. The exhalation should be slow,
contolled, and le fom exemoll and jerks.
5) At the end of the txhal:llon, clost the lef no:tru with the rng
fnger: opcn the right nostril slowly and completely. Inhalation
and cxhalatiGIl should be of equal duration.
6) Repeat this cycle of exhalation with the left nostril and
mhalation with the right nostu+ t more times.
7) At the end of the tti:d inhalation through the right nostr1l.
exhale completely through the same nostril still keeping the left
nostril closed with the ring fnger.
8) At the end of the exhalation. close the right nostril with the
thumb and inhale through the left nosrnl.
9) Repeat twO more times the cycle of exhalaion t
.
hrough the
right nosrril and inhalation through the lef nostril. ThIS completes
the exerCIse.
10) The exerise in the mormng COnsIsts of:
(a) Th1ee cycles of exhalation through the left nostril and
mhalatlon through the right nostril; followed by
(b) Three cycles of exhalation through the right nostril and
mlatlon through the lef nostril.
I I) [n the evening the exercise consists of:
(a) Three cycles of exhalation through the nght nostril and
inhalation through the !rh nostril; foUo\ved by
(b) Three cycles of exhalation through the left nostril and
inhalation through the right nostril
ppcd:dvmYour SkjfTpsfrm t Naturl Brihmnce Rm
You should be cm to see that mhaiatlon and exhalaton are of
equal duratIOn. I nhalation and exhalation should be slow,
controlled, and free from jerks and any sense of exertion. With
practice, you can gradually lengthen the duration of your
inhalation and exhalation.
Achieve Goals without Self-Sabotage
Many clients have described their subconscious as a bmd saboteur of
their goals and best-laid plans. I have devoted a considerable amount of
professional curiosity to that statcmem.
Most of our so-called self-sabotage is basically interal dialogue.
When you desire to accomplish a p,you can be cc pktcly derailed
by simply inserting an analytical, fearl, or self-critical imernal dialO' e
in the midst of taking action. Imagine focusing on making a golf shot
and smoothly following through with your stroke. Thel'i, at the height of
your backstroke. thinking. "Now make sure you stay away from thar
water haza:d!` Your stroke falls apart, and the likelihood of your ball
going nlto the water increases beouse you directed your anenton to the
water. We do not sabotage ourselves maliciously. The fearful. limited
collScious mind is trying to help. Like a back-seat driver. it does it best
to make sure everthing works out.
To eliminate self-sabotage, the Paraliminal tape Arllomutic Pilot
trains yOll to be clear about what you want. The tape asks YOll to forma
goal that is stated in positive terms. within your control TO achieve.
beneficial in all ways, me,lurable, and worthwhile. When you have
a clear goal, the tape leads you to wire-in the necessary behaviors for
it accomplishment.
Using full sensory mental rehearsal, you imagine accomplishing
the goal up to twenty-one times 111 seven seconds. The visualizations
occur 111 a numerical prs ion known the Fibonacci number series.
The effect trins the brain to recognize what you want, so that when
it is time [0 perform, you can go on automatic pilot. omitting the
mteral dialogue.
l always encourage my clients to rcfr.me their vew orthe inner mind.
Think of the inner mind as an ally, not a saboteur. From y of feld
rcarch, I have determmed that if )'ur subconscious has prevented you
from succeeding, it is only because it knew no other way to help you.
Your inner mmd wants you to succeed and achieve Imer peace.
179
180 Nafural rillattce
Dream Your Way to Success: Activate Your Natural Brilliance
Drcanung may he the ideal way to acti\:te your NanHai Brilliance.
Almost witham conscious effort you can gain the advantage of havlIlg
your brain work through [he night to help you succeed. Because
dreaming requires a minimum of conscious input, you ehnunatc the
limitations and complications of analytical problem-solving. The inner
mind can review information, work through problems, and present
solutions to you when you awaken.
.
Everything you experience durmg the day is processed by the Illlnd.
Information that is not processed consciously is often reviewed and
processed unconsciously during sleep. Dreams ofen reveal the mind's
work at making seIlSe of our experiences.
Dr. Norman t Dixon in his book lm:omt Pssjng describes the
Poetzl effect. In 1917, a cognitive researcher named Paetz] discovered
that information presented subliminally is symbolically transformed and
shows up a dreamimagery at night.
Dr. Stephen LaBerge of the Stanford Sleep Research Laboratory
wrote in his book ud L otnrg:"With the universe ofexperience thus
open to you, you must sleep through a thud of your li
:
a it seell yo:
must, a you willing to sleep through your dreams too. HI5 psltlon IS
that learning t access your dreaming mind gives yOll a vast lITl1verse of
human development opportunities. Every night you can use the gIfts
your dreaming mind ofers you.
.
l3efore g0111g to sleep at night. you can programyour Imud to get
the maximumbeneft fm drcamillg. Sittng on the edge of your bed.
simply enter an accelerative learmg sute usmg the standard proceduT
described 1 Chapter 4 of thIS book. Take only a llunUle or t at the
most to go into state. Then, program your mind to drealll about
the books you have Photo Read that day and to remember the dream
upon a\vakenillg.
.
After noticing your dreams each morning for fewdays, yOll Will get a
feeling for the subtle and symbolic conllllllnicarioll from yOllr inner
mind. Do not worry about making sense of everything you dream. Not
aU dreamsare intended to make sense consciously.
Then, take the next step and play WIth problem-solving in your
dreams. Programyour mmd [ sol. . e specifc problems. If you dIvide the
steps ofthe Natural Brilliance model, one mght you could program'four
mind to release, the next night to notice. etc.
Select and Photo Read several books all the subject that will help YOll
ppcndix: dvnceYour SlTipsjmm rltr Noruro| Bril|iouce Rtt.t
RSOlve your problem, as you do III Direct Le;rning. Theil. invite your
Illllld to put tOgcther the essential knowledge and reveal to you the
direction you hould follow to accomplish your goals. When you
awaken. make mind map nOh"S of your dreams. Often, the story line of
YOllr dream i a metaphor, a symbohc representation of what you can do
to solve rhe problem you t1CC. Examme your mind maps to reveal the
llIsight your IIlller mind has to ofTer.
Review Your Day
You can bclie\'e that you call create today to be better than yesterday.
When YOll take action on this belief, witness the results. You WIll
develop a mind set for continuous improvement i your life.
Any incremental shift for the better moves yOll m the direction of your
gQ. The f.lstest way to aill shift in behavior uto review your day each
evening before sleep and oler nurturing st'lf-talk frm a place of \vmcs.
You mellt.llly review your day while belllg aware of your purpose.
How dId you do toda? Is your "doing" consIstent with the purpose
of your "belllg"? Ifso, celebrate! Ifnot. witness that discrepancy and
gain internal support to adueV" your purpose. N uumc the SItuations
where you feel you could improve. Thlllk of what you would do III the
future If a Sllliliar situation arose. 'n this way you memally rehearse
success for the nlmre.
The New I Jjstory CelllriHOr Paralimlllal tape can be valu,lble for
rehearsmg success. Side B teaches you the entire mental review process
1 a relaxlllg pleasant ,vy.
Another tool I have used IJ1 trainlllg I called the MotivAider. It is a
personal timer. the size of a pagmg device, that vibrates briefy at the
tulle IIltervai you set. The vibration reminds you of somethll1g you ha\'e
deternllned WIll suppOrt you 1I1 your personal or profeSSional
development. You can choose to be reminded once every twenty-fours
hour; down to a often as alice a minllte. This pocker buzzer alerts you
to keep your purpose or goal <t the forefront of your con.'>iousne.
In the Natural firilliance retreat. at frst we suggest you use the
MotivAider to remind you to release and notice. Later the program
we sug"St it to relllllld you to respond wmbehaviors or access highly
empowered states. Finally, people gback IIno their e\'rydJ.y .\\<
sugget they contl1lue to witness theIr bfe expenence. Using a
MottvAlder reminds them to Stay on track to theIr goals, bnlhantly.
181
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Index
A
AbIgIty31. 161
toler.met for 137
Anch0T111g43. 145
AUention 1 1 , 39.59
AUlollic Trall1ng42
Awan'ness 1 1 . 39. 53. 62. 95. 175
1
outside yourself 12. 53
nsoryOCUlty54
pcnpheraI 55-56
Uancc12. 22. 39. 53. 61, 68
Calo Repnd
Barrl:rs 132. 160-163
Being33-35, 150-151
Uiphasic 22. 24
Bn"lthlrlg42. 175. 177-178
hn;th control or pranayama 177-178
Busillt'S 36, 144, 168
C
LaUt23-25. 68-69. 84
Change 6. 17. 23, 26. 54, 65. 95. 1 1 2. 127
gner:ri\^remedial 36. <8
ph
)
oogy42
ill D0:c76
vtabh129
ComfonZole23, 107
\.OmQcX:ty9
OUc

Dl Blockbustmg 160
Consultant 1 42. 143
pamt of view80
Coul1lemlbnce21
CourageousRisk-ukmg 102
Cn.mvProblem-solving 15, 129. 135
prcess l35
defne
y
roble
l
ll US, U8
idcDtt obstac es 138
gnerate soluoons 136-137
in dnams 156, ISO
\ur:Os1ty 35. 95
D
D
!
n'ct Lear1l1g 15. I I I. I ! 5. 154
DIon, Norman 1 13-1 1 4
Domg34-36. 150
do wbc 36,132
Dn;lming ISO-I R I
E
Edu-KOteducational kineiology61
80/20 Rtlo 1 37
xCcl0Ucc 43
Expcnennal MLhalcI1gc 137. 1 56. 176

F;ilun21, 26. 130

f3rof66. 70. 161
Fcars 4, 21 . 69. 161, 169
Felt-shif 130
Fli
g
htHlindCfS 51
FuUCr. uckt1III1:tcr 27. 28, 56
Fun), OgIC 71
G
Gentranv9. 92, 97. 140. 159
Gelllu$ 5. 14. 16R
ctIVatc 1 5. 16'
genius cJQacIIy 126
QI5OIw 159
Goals 33, 71
chain ofoutcomti 34
cCtc 34
condirollS ofwdl-formed 141
Calo o1lroiircnotmtiom
Gordon. E Noah %

HathU Yo6. 175

HYrnOSlS 23,65. 163
1_DOuc t|ce 23
hypnoncinfueCC 163
stJge hypnonst 163
l
ImpJCIt Melllory 1 1 3
Intuition62-63
J
Juging 68

lUteff, Izzy 1 1 2
Keller. Helen 1 1
Kline, Peter 57
L
Le 13
Leap of Faith 76
Learg)
lifelong 3, 16, 90
one trial 3
nammybnlli,t 4
fom nusukes 26
trial and feedback 69
Lcki, Pa'Cl 1 1 1
Life Isue 93

Natural Bnlliance
foursteps of 10, 14
fvt prinCIple of 38
three amtudes of91-92
t0i0 !ccd:c
sro|e^er:
C0i0 !cQ0rIJ
00Hm e
Nc;r Death 82
Nervous System 22
New Opt1n Generator 15, 145
seven exercises 147-155
gh 56, 159
ooee 1 1 , 134. 173
cr 0:0 0uurm5
o
Oasis Exprrience 81
Optons I I , 15, 23, 51, 67, 69,92, 112,
behavioral 31-32
Originate 99
Oscillate 5, 8, 21, 25, 26, 27.33, 35, 51. 67. 92, 107,
127, 131. 132. 145. 160
me oscillaton 36, 90
Other-than-colscious Mind 39, 54, 69-70, 1 10,
112, 1 17, 121
Outcomes 67, 72
outcome oremuton 35, 67
00_00b
1
Pardox 3, 10, 21 , 33, 35, 124, 126. 139, 167
do to be 36, 132
paradoxcal problems 129, 131, 167
Ups 1, 132
duenun; 167
Paraltnllnai T;133
Perceptions
sensory 12
Intern.1 2
perceptwl posmon 79
Perfecnorusm 132
Performance 14,40,65,66, 142
performance barrier 40
PcMmence 69, 91, IQ, 14O, 159
Peronty 24
Phobl2s 6
PhotoFocus 56, 159
PhotoReading 1 5, 41, 58, II I , 115
PhotoRroding procedu 1 18
rofMind31
Precorucious Processor 54, 110, 1 1 2, 180
Problem 72
defining the real 134. 167
defnition i swron
g
140
O0u0m 0lcQmt0rI
O0i0_0IuJwQR
Procrastination 23, 155
Purposc 156, 181
Q
Quadr21lt Model 8
R
lUnge of BehlVlor 93
Range of Choices 145, 169
Receptive 140, 159
Rebxanon 39, 41
insum rcwnoll 41
deep rla.Xrion 41, 44-48
:t alReleae
Release 10, 39, 134, 171
see rewton
Resources 17
bckof35
Respond 12, 65, 134
take acrion 69, 181
Robot 4
Russel Peter n
S
SafetyZone 32
Self-defeatng Behaviors 85
Shadow 83-84, 87
Stop SignS 5, 21, 23, 26, 28, 32. 80. 83, 107, 131
puU out l6, 26, 29, 32, 90. 1 16, 146
Stretch Sutch. Thc 104-105
Srs 73
StuckStlte5, 21-22. 28.35, 89, 131 , 1 60, I68
s
p
eech at roastrers I, 141
dagnoe 19
Subde Energies 60, 174
Success 89. 126, 1 41
T
Tahh, Roger 24
Take Action 69, 146. 1 81
j alrnd
Tennon 41. 42
Thinking
flexible thmkll1g 94
ucnthil1km

98
onglllal thinking 98
ebboratve thmklllg 99
inugtiw thmkllg 103
Trap 130. 132, 134
Tomatis. Al&d 57
Tunnel Vision 52
W
Warzlawick. Paul 70
Whlck21
Williams. Frank E. 91
Wimess 13. 75, 143
ner death experience 82
:rcl:ouu nnc::owside forme
L i0u|1ul0ttl_ctItl
Wounds 14.26,84,98
woundm
g
14
emotional 26-28. 161
Wynne, Marcus 65-67
Z
Zen 171
begmner's mmd 135
`c|-Icp
SA
" Yes, you have genius within you.
NATURAL BRILLIANCE
helps you find it, release if, and use it. "
Alllh"f Qlld Ed"r<f1r
Pmt R. S<"lir, .1 <
" Paul Scheele works :H the clitting edge of'oftw:m
for the mind: His in>ighcand pychocyical technolcyie:
inspire peole worldwide. Moder psychologists work
widl the ultimate bio-comuter every day, the human
brlin. (1 Nail/rll Brilliml((
'
Paul helps you use your
bram as it was always intended, easily and brilliantly.
He helps you release the genius within."
Paul McKenna, Ph.D.
Hostofthe mtcrnati0l131 telcvisIOIl hn
'w Nyp,.",it Irid c J111/ 'rKtlIIu
"If yOll want to succeed in the face of any challenge,
read Pau R. Scheele's Nailiral Brilliallc( right now."
LrIs Pno
Managmg DI'ctor. LifcTools Ltd.
"Paul Scheele shares stCp-by"tep formula for releasing
our true flClllrl In
'
lIiml(c that will shine into all aspect
of our lif."
Lco Hauser
Author, motiv;l!iOllal SItJktT, and former
I'residl'n ofdw Americall Society for
Tr,'inin & Il`Vlopmcnt
Learnng5lraleges Lorporaton
900 Easl Wayzal< Boulevard
Wayzata, Minnesota 55391 1836 USA
612-476-9200 . 800-735-8273 FAX 612-475-2373
" You have once again pn:vidLd information that is
not readily avaibble through traditional methods of
education and prof iou:1 rining, made them leafllable
to the masses, and iucurporated you: own artistry.
Mark Orth
Licensed Psychologist,
Intcr1.a(lonal Pelform2ncC
Enhnctl11ent Consulant
"Your insIglu into why and where people get stuck,
your inspiraui on in motivating for positive change,
your tark and poignant examples of change in real
people, and the step-by-step chanb' anyone can achieve
make Na/Ural Brilliance a must reading:'
]in NeIson
President ofLe.1Tnmg System CeTcT
"[ have read many excellent and superb books, bur
Natljml 1rillillll(j' is above :lt1d beyond description. A
ll1ust for anyone committed to self-development. Just
do it, and celebrate your gellim,"
Noel AI|cea
PTt" llkm or I'ck PcrfOTIIrs of lucno lco
9