Self

 by: Steve Gillman

Many mind tricks are more than just tricks. They are creative techniques for tapping into the power of your mind. They entertain, but they also have more practical. A good example is the "pupil trick."

Look in the mirror and watch your eyes as you vividly imagine something pleasurable. It can be a beautiful scene, your favorite naked body, or anything else that will create desire in you. You'll notice your pupils getting larger almost immediately. If you practice a bit, you can make your pupils instantly larger at will.

Pupils enlarge when you are aroused, interested and receptive. When you are with someone and your pupils dilate, the person you are talking to subconsciously senses your interest in them or what they are saying, and they like that. This makes it easier for them to like you, and to listen to what you suggest. You don't have to be a salesman to take advantage of this. Once you learn to control your pupil size, why not try this subliminal mind trick?

A Mental Math Trick

As a young boy in school, I didn't "show my work" in math class. In my figuring, 97 x 16 became 100 x 16 (1600) minus 3 x 16 (48). It was easier that way, and almost automatic, so I would just write down 1552 even though I couldn't explain very well how I arrived at the answer. For my teachers this was a problem, but many years later such math shortcuts were sold in seminars and books. You might want to learn a few of your own.

A Memory Trick

Suppose you need to remember the following list: Soap, milk, honey, fork, and flowers. Just start a vivid story in your imagination, adding items to it as you go: At the sink, reach for the SOAP, and find the soap dish full of MILK. Wash your hands with that, and then comb HONEY into your hair with a FORK. Finally, pick up a bouquet of FLOWERS and smile at the mirror. Repeat each item while mentally reviewing your "movie," and you'll remember all five things, even the next day.

Mind Tricks For Motivation

To get yourself motivated, talk about your plans. This is a simple, yet powerful mind trick. By the time I tell my wife about the newsletter I'm going to write, I'm out of my slump and back at the keyboard. You can quickly change your state of mind, but not by willing it to change. That would be like trying to ride a bicycle without pedaling. There is a mechanical aspect to the mind that can't be ignored. That is what these techniques tap into.

To help a friend out of a bad mood, get them to talk. More specifically, get your friend to explain something to you that they are passionate about. The process literally will change the chemicals in their brain, and so change their state of mind. When you find the topics that work best, remember them for future use.

A Reading Trick

I cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid. Aoccdrnig to rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer inwaht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Amzanig huh? yaeh and I awlyas thought slpeling was ipmorantt.

A subscriber to my Brainpower Newsletter sent me that one. A more useful speed-reading "trick," is to read just the first and last sentences of paragraphs. That's where the most useful information usually is, as in the last sentence of this paragraph: Mind power comes from practice, not desire, so why not try these mind tricks?