Are You Hypnotized?
June 8, 2010
The first time I saw a stage hypnotist perform was in college. It was remarkable. Within minutes, the hypnotist had a volunteer strutting around clucking like a chicken. Was this just an act, was the volunteer really hypnotized, or was it something else? I wasn’t certain. From what I’ve read, stage hypnotists deploy a combination of psychological factors such as peer pressure, social compliance, participant selection, suggestibility, physical manipulation and trickery, to name a few.
What struck me most was how the hypnotist had implanted a post-hypnotic suggestion. After the volunteer was “snapped” out of his trance, whenever the hypnotist said, “Chicken,” the volunteer instantly clucked… and did so loudly!
After the performance, I talked to the volunteer. He didn’t recall acting like a chicken… nor did he know why he clucked. His claims rang true and he seemed most sincere.
Over the years, I’ve observed that in some ways many people appear to be hypnotized… myself included. While few people cluck when “chicken” is mentioned, certain other words do elicit equally abrupt and predictable responses. Sometimes I wonder if our society is operating under post-hypnotic suggestions? Just bring up religion, politics, abortion, offshore drilling, healthcare, diet or lifestyle issues… and observe what happens. The mere mention of certain subjects or words often elicits uncontrollable clucks… I mean auto-responses. It’s difficult to have a meaningful conversation when someone starts clucking before you can finish asking your question or sharing your idea.
In order for a volunteer to be hypnotized, he/she must willingly enable the hypnotist to take control of his/her critical thinking. Recently, I’ve observed many people have willingly enabled radio talk show hosts, cable TV personalities, religious leaders and politicians to do the same. For many, blind trust (following) has replaced independent critical thinking. Read more
Time Traveling
June 4, 2010
I love time traveling. I’ve done it most of my life. I’m finding the older I get, the easier it becomes. I don’t have a time machine… I just read, think and mostly use my imagination to propel me. Sometimes I travel back in time; other times I project myself into the future. The biggest benefit of time travel is returning to the present with wisdom.
What started me time traveling was realizing many of the people that influence my thinking had left this world before I ever arrived. Compelled to meet and understand my influencers, I started visiting them. After several trips, patterns started to emerge. I found many of my heroes weren’t heroes at all… at least not during their lifetimes. Some were rejected by society. Many were considered radical, dangerous, or even insane. Traveling forward from these places in time, I observed how it took future generations to start understanding the courage, brilliance and insight these individuals possessed. Looking back from the present, it’s hard to believe these people weren’t celebrated. Then again, future generations will see us in the same light… and wonder the same.
During one of my journeys, a great hero of mine from the 1400s explained that expending too much time and energy trying to convince people from your own time period is unproductive. “Think, write and create for the unborn,” he said. “They will come to understand and value your insight and effort.” In his case, no truer words could be spoken… and I told him so. I appreciate his advice and often heed it.
The more you travel, the clearer one thing becomes… time exposes the truth. As it turns out, many past “heroes” weren’t heroes at all. They were popular charlatans, people of privilege or barbaric leaders driven by self-serving agendas. These individuals weren’t whom they claimed to be… or what they were perceived to be during their time. Many were truth twisters and propaganda creators on a mission to gain power and prestige in their lifetime… and were willing to achieve it at any cost. Whether it’s past, present or future one thing remains consistent—leaders need supporters and followers to succeed. Read more
Beyond Labels
May 21, 2010
An author, enigma, husband, lazy, philosopher, stupid, intelligent, uncle, dreamer, kind, father, sincere, creative genius, son, public speaker, radical, friend, loving, designer, liberal, conservative, insightful, extremist, smart ass, brilliant, idiot, businessman, brother, left-wing, right-wing… these are some of the words and labels people have used to describe me over the past year. Some have been shared directly, others behind my back. While some labels are more objective and useful to communicate, others are subjective and open to interpretation. Notice the contradictions in my labels? That’s because they are projections. Labels reflect as much about the labeler as they do the person being labeled. Since I put little merit in subjective labels, I try not to let them influence my thinking. As people we are more than labels… and reality always trumps words.
While labels simplify the world, provide context and help us organize our thoughts, they don’t define reality. In business, people are given titles to describe a role or position. These labels don’t describe who they are, or what they’re capable of doing. The same holds true with children. Have you ever heard a conversation along these lines?
“My daughter is gifted… she’s in all the advanced classes!”
“That’s wonderful, my son is LD… actually, he’s ADD… and in special classes.
“My oldest son is ADHD and he went on to college. My daughter is average… she’s getting by in regular classes… if she worked harder she could be in AP courses.” Read more
Cut, Baby, Cut
May 19, 2010
I first became interested in Easter Island (Rapa Nui) years ago after reading “Chariots of the Gods” by Erich von Däniken. His basic hypothesis is that space travelers visited earth and were welcomed as gods by our ancient ancestors. To Däniken’s way of thinking, this explains many of the unexplainable ancient technologies, past marvels and religious stories. Easter Island was one example sighted in his book, specifically the large monolithic statues called “moai”. According to Däniken, creating and transporting such massive statues would have been outside the intellectual or physical scope of primitive islanders. While most scientists and historians reject Däniken’s ideas, his book captured my imagination and made me aware of Easter Island.
Easter Island is the most isolated habitable piece of land in the world. It lies in the Pacific Ocean more than 2,000 miles west of South America. According to scientists, when its inhabitants first arrived around 400 AD, they must have thought they landed in paradise. The mild climate, fertile soil, rich vegetation and forests would have provided all the resources needed to build homes, canoes (for fishing), fuel for fire, making rope, weapons, thatching, and so on. Over time these islanders developed a complex social structure, centralized government and religious practices… and at some point, they began creating statues.
But by the time Dutch explorer Jacob Roggeveen discovered the island in 1722 on Easter day (hence its name), it was far from a paradise. There wasn’t a tree or bush standing higher than ten feet tall. The native animals had vanished and the islanders were raising chickens to survive. According to Roggeveen and others who followed him, these famished natives certainly weren’t capable of producing and moving such massive statues. So what happened on Easter Island? There are many theories. Not only about why and how these statues were made… but what happened to the islanders who made them… and what happened to their paradise? Read more
Being a Good Samaritan
April 28, 2010
What ever happened to being a Good Samaritan? Last week in New York, Hugo Tale-Yax, a homeless Guatemalan immigrant, was stabbed repeatedly in the chest while saving a woman from a knife-wielding attacker. Then he fell to the sidewalk, bleeding to death as dozens of people walked past. While some turned their heads to catch a glimpse, others actually stopped to gawk and talk. One guy stopped, rolled Tale-Yax onto his side, saw the puddle of blood, and then kept walking. Another person actually took a photo before moving on!
“HOW CAN PEOPLE WALK BY A DYING PERSON AND NOT HELP?” outraged citizens ask in utter disbelief. “WHAT’S THE WORLD COMING TO?” dismayed talking TV heads ask… acting as if this were something new.
According to social psychologists, Mr. Tale-Yax was the victim of a psychological phenomenon called “the bystander effect.” I first learned about this in a college sociology class. Back then it was called the “Genovese syndrome” named after the infamous 1964 rape and murder of Kitty Genovese in Queens. Dozens of people witnessed her attack and heard her screams but did nothing to stop it… let alone report it.
It seems the greater the number of bystanders, the less likely it is that any one of them will help a person in need. Research shows that individual bystanders monitor fellow bystanders to try and determine if it’s necessary to intervene. When no one takes action, they all conclude their help isn’t needed. Some individuals assume that another bystander will intervene… and as a result, no one intervenes. Many individuals assume that another bystander is more qualified, so they don’t bother getting involved. Certain bystanders are concerned about “losing face” in the eyes of the others… while some fear legal consequences should they offer their assistance. Read more
Beach Balls, Truth and Innovation
April 16, 2010
Have you ever tried holding a small beach ball under water? It’s not too difficult at first… but the longer you try to hold it down, the harder it becomes. At some point, the upward force (buoyant force) wins and the beach ball surfaces. Back in 200 BC, Archimedes, the brilliant Greek scientist, discovered the deeper you hold a buoyant object underwater, the higher it shoots above the surface once it’s released. Buoyancy = weight of displaced fluid. Archimedes’ principle seems to apply to truth as well. Try as you may to keep it hidden, eventually it surfaces.
One technique I’ve used to hide a ball in the pool is to sit on it. This seems clever at first, but it’s a bit risky… one wrong move and the ball shoots right out from underneath you and flies out of the water for all to see. This is what happened to Bernie Madoff… he made some bad moves, lost his balance, and the truth surfaced in a flash. Sometimes, if you’re careful and have enough power, you can let the ball up slowly. This is what the tobacco industry did regarding the dangers of smoking. They realized the truth was going to surface sooner than later… so they let it up slowly. Whether it’s a beach ball or the truth, it’s not a matter of if or how it will surface, but when. At some point, even master beach ball hiders need to leave the pool and take a break. Read more
Being Present
April 8, 2010
A mother and her two children were seated a few tables away from my wife and me last night at dinner. The mom looked to be in her late 30s, her son around 14, and her daughter a few years younger than him. Perhaps it was because we were sitting in the corner or maybe it was just an acoustical phenomenon of sorts, but despite the relatively loud music, we could hear their conversation—perfectly.
The mom’s remarks were short, but she seemed very focused on proper protocol… sit up straight, shut your mouth, sit still, leave your sister alone, use your fork, be quiet, ignore him, don’t speak that way… and so on. Then I glanced over to discover her real focus—a mobile phone. She was texting and didn’t want to be disturbed. Sadly, she continued doing so throughout the entire dinner. Try as they might, neither kid could get her to join them in their world—the real world. Both were vying (unsuccessfully) for her attention.
I tried ignoring them, but it was difficult. She was oblivious… unaware that some day she would look up and they’d be gone. I felt compelled to go over and explain to her that whatever it was she was texting about would almost certainly pale in comparison to spending this special time with her two offspring. But I didn’t. “Maybe it takes grown children to be aware of these things,” Anne suggested. She’s probably right.
Even so, this mom seemed blind to the fact that precious moments only appear once—then they’re gone—forever. That’s how moments work. Each one is uniquely special… and then it’s gone. Life happens with or without us. Our kids grow up, our peers and loved ones move on and eventually we all die… that’s reality. Life exists within each moment… and when we aren’t present, we miss it.
We can’t travel back in time and do it again. In life there are no “do-overs”… this is it. The past and future exist only in our minds… the present is our only reality. Whether it’s business, family or a random encounter with a stranger… don’t waste your precious moments not being present. Reality is right now… this moment. For both the giver and receiver, being present is the greatest present of all… a real gift.