"Strange Powers" - Colin Wilson lecture notes

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Re: "Strange Powers" - Colin Wilson lecture notes

As soon as you can see this is fundamentally true, as soon as you do things and they work out right, what happens is that you change your self-image. Suddenly, you're promoted - you really are a lance-corporal! It's not really complicated to enact once you've got yourself into the state of mind. Pransky is completely right. It is thought that is the basis of all this. He's the first to see this with absolute total clarity so, in my view, he's the greatest living psychologist."

Pransky had gained his insight from an ordinary non-academic, non-professional working man called Sydney Banks. Banks had been telling a friend how unhappy he was when the friend remarked: "You're not unhappy, Syd, you just think you are". As it sank in, Banks looked at him in amazement. "Do you realise what you've just said?" he asked his friend. What had suddenly struck him was that nearly all our psychological problems arose from our thoughts. What the friend was saying was: people make themselves unhappy with their thoughts. Pessimists do not have peak experiences because they are pessimists. Optimists do have peak experiences because they are optimists. Banks was so overwhelmed by this insight that he began presenting it to audiences. Pransky was one of those who heard him and he was converted from the old pessimistic Freudianism. Pransky noted one interesting thing: all the people at the seminar struck him as exceptionally healthy and cheerful. They were "copers", people who felt in charge of their lives.

I have been pursued by a man wanting me to sign up to one of his seminars about the three principles as expoused by Sydney Banks. I had a gut reaction of to get the heck away from this psycho. It was very strong. I did some checking, Sydney Banks is not a learned man he wrote more books than he ever read and his revelation of thoughts are the only thing that make us unhappy (classic shut up and deal with reality don't try challenge it stuff). He claimed a new psychology which is not new at all just he had never read up or made any effort to educate himself about psychology theories to now that he was not talking about anything groundbreaking or new. His Three Principles is very popular to this day it seems and a great way for motivational speakers to make money.
The man who was persistant in trying to get me to attend his seminars my husband and I have just had confirmation this week that his corporate marketing credentials are completely false. Credentials he promotes himself with on his website. He claimed to be New Zealand marketing director of a large multi national company, well as it turns out they have never heard of him and are continuing their investigation.
So just a good lesson in always fact check and follow up on peoples claims. They are everywhere.


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