In 1960 cosmetic surgeon Maxwell Matz unleashed a wave of sorts with the publication of Psycho-Cybernetics: A New Way To Get More Living Out of Life  – which effectively unleashed the self-help phenomenon. In the book he announced that the “most important psychological discovery of the century is the discovery of Self Image”. Matz further claimed that Self Image was the “golden key to living a better life”. He used the engineering concept of cybernetics (famously formulated by Norbert Weiner) to compare the human being to a self-regulating mechanism which takes in data from the outside world and then through repeated course correction works to achieve goals. In this mechanism, Matz pointed out, beliefs play a very important role in the construction of Self Image. Interestingly though beliefs have no relation to reality – they can be true or false but since you believe them, you will act them out. Matz pointed out how time and again research subjects who were told under hypnosis that they could not write their names or lift a pencil from the table, were actually not able to do any of these things. This shows the sheer power of belief on human behaviour. So before you objectively know whether you are actually a good singer or writer, you encounter beliefs about your singing and writing. Family, co-workers or editors perhaps comment on your skills and those form your belief about yourself as a singer and writer. So if, based on external feedback, you believe you are good singer, you will continue to sing well and improve over time whereas if you believe you are a bad writer, you will play out that part and deliver poor writing.

Now that you know how crucial beliefs are in the creation of your Self Image, it does not take much to see that one of the simplest ways to change your Self Image is to change your beliefs. Matz suggests the technique of rationally falsifying current ineffective beliefs and replacing them with positive beliefs. So if you have the belief that people find you dull and uninteresting, first identify it as an ineffective belief which does you no favours. Then subject that belief to a series of rational questions like “what proof is there that all people find me dull all the time? Is there any instance where someone did not find me dull? Where is it written that if I have been dull, I shall continue to be so for all time to come?” Questions like these will help you point out the inherent irrationality of holding ineffective beliefs so that you can replace them with positive self-beliefs.

Mahatman philosophy points out that merely adopting positive self-beliefs about yourself is not enough. Matz too suggested that for the change to reflect in a more positive Self Image, it is necessary that your actions are consistent with the new beliefs. For example if you practice the belief that you are an interesting person, then you should follow it up with actions like not refusing party invites, volunteering to organize an office social or asking out an attractive neighbour for a cup of coffee. Mahatman says that once you have changed ineffective beliefs for effective ones and started to align your actions to the new positive beliefs, you are well on your way to create a positive Self Image.

Yet another way of creating a positive Self Image is to employ visualization techniques. Mahatman emphasizes on the tremendous power of the pre-frontal cortex or new brain in changing perceptions. Bear in mind that the human brain is essentially a lazy organ – it tends to save energy by letting the older reptilian brain function in default mode. That is why whenever you are faced with any challenging situation, you tend to take the easy way out and use the flight or fight options. Instead use your new brain – the analytical and imaginative powers of the pre-frontal cortex – to face the situation and strengthen your positive Self Image. So if you have just been asked by your co-workers to join them for an after-hours drink, rather than bail out with a lame excuse – flight mode – or having too many drinks – fight mode – to calm your nerves, use visualization techniques to face the situation which in this case is your discomfort with socializing.

Repeated research in visualization practices have proved that such techniques lead to palpable change in behaviour. Indeed the roots of visualization can be traced to the complex of highly popular Cognitive Behavioural approaches to solving anxiety and emotional disorders. Albert Ellis, the proponent of Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy suggested that one of the emotive/experiential interventions was the use of rational emotive imagery which involves the use the imagination to replace ineffective emotions like hatred and anger with more appropriate ones like displeasure and frustration, thereby leading to more adaptive behaviour in response to stressful situations. Again Imaginal Exposure, which is often used in Behavioural Therapy to treat phobias and anxiety disorders, is also a type of visualization whereby repeated exposure to the feared stimulus in the patient’s imagination has been proven to reducing anxiety symptoms.

One of the first real life applications of the power of visualization outside the therapeutic context was in 1970s when Soviet athletes practiced these techniques to support their training regimen. There continues to be substantial research in the ability of visualization techniques to change behaviour and actions. For example mental practice through visualization techniques have been shown to lead to enhanced motor skills like that found in a study by Australian psychologist Alan Richardson which found a group of students who spent 20 minutes every day visualizing free throws did twenty-three percent better than the group which had the same amount of physical practice but no mental practice.

So how can you benefit from visualization techniques to build your greatness Self Image? Here are a few tips:

• Start with relaxation techniques. Choose a quiet place in pleasant surroundings and a time when you are unlikely to be distracted or disturbed. Breathe deeply and practice a few muscle relaxation exercises so that your mind and body are optimized for the benefits of visualization process.
• Make it as detailed as possible. Continuing with the above example of you feeling nervous about a social gathering, imagine a scene where you are having fun and enjoying the party. Focus especially on the sensory details – like your favourite music playing in the background, the smell of spiced vanilla wafting around, the cozy warmth of the indoors, the taste of a full-bodied wine and open, smiling faces of your co-workers. The reason why detailed visualization works is because the brain actually cannot differentiate between real and imagined memories. The more you repeat positive images in your mind, the more neural connections the brain keeps making so that the image seems more real and definitely achievable.
• Visualize the goal and process. Very often when people complain that positive visualization has not worked for them, it could be because they have merely visualized themselves with the accomplished goal and not the process. So if you want to get that coveted job, rather than just imagining yourself sitting in the corner office, go over the entire process in your mind – starting from how you have really prepared for the interview, fielded questions with confidence and then added your own inputs as the interviews sat back and listened to you. Visualizing the process of achieving your goals also makes for a more a participative experience rather than a merely observant one. Experts believe that the more you imagine yourself as doing and experiencing the things you want in your mind, the higher your chances of achieving your goals rather than merely looking upon yourself as an audience in a movie hall.
• Hook the visualization to strong emotional cues. It is no secret that humans are creatures of feelings since the older brain often takes over the mind with primal emotions like fear, lust and rage. So use emotional cues to enhance your visualization like accompanying the practice with appropriate music. Employing the power of emotions to charge your visualization process will create vital energy and in the process lead to a stronger Self Image.
• Finally have patience. Maxwell Matz in his book Psycho-Cybernetics points out that it takes at least 21 days to replace an old mental picture with a new one. So when you launch into visualization techniques, it is important that you continue with patience and consistency. Avoid second guessing yourself or getting distracted and instead keep practicing with vigour and faith in the Mahatman philosophy.

Mahatman philosophy exhorts you to use such visualization techniques to build your own Self Image of Greatness. Imagine your Self Image like a master plan for a grand building – you need to visualize yourself achieving Great Health and Great Wealth, in order to create the energy necessary to reach those levels of greatness. So visualize yourself eating healthy food, focusing on their tastes, textures, aromas and colours as well as the effects from such nutritious diet – like feeling lighter and more energetic. Likewise visualize yourself achieving Great Wealth through the Mahatman techniques you read earlier rather than being driven by emotions of fear and greed that Kiyosaki in his best-selling book Rich Dad Poor Dad identifies as turning the vicious cycle of earning money, spending excessively and then having to earn more money to meet more expenses. Complement your positive visualization techniques with memories of your past successes and very soon you will be able to create a powerful Self Image primed for becoming the Great Soul or Mahatman.

One more thing you need to know about Self Image is that it is not based on external change. The very reason why Matz wrote his ground-breaking Psycho-Cybernetics was because he noticed that despite achieving planned results after cosmetic surgery, many of his patients still complained that “nothing has changed and succumbed to depression and other emotional problems. He zeroed in on the cause for their unhappiness located within themselves, their “inner scars” and not on their outward appearance. So no matter how good you look with cosmetic surgery or rich you become with a lottery win, if your thoughts, beliefs and attitudes are not oriented towards achieving greatness, your Self Image will remain poor. Indeed that is what literally happens to many lottery winners in the United States. Statistics from Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards show that nearly one third of lottery winners in America declare bankruptcy and that too within three to five years of the financial windfall. Thus Mahatman philosophy warns that external measures like cosmetic surgery and winning the lottery can be temporal at best and ineffectual at worst at making you feel good about yourself. True Self Identity on the other hand is lasting; rather than a temporary feel-good state, it makes for a permanent state of feeling powerful and actualized

And for that to happen, it needs to be harnessed to the power of the Will. While will power is conscious exercise to work towards Great Health, Great Wealth and Great Wisdom, Self-Image is underlying master plan of your beliefs, perceptions and attitudes that will guide your thoughts, words and behaviours. In the process your Self Image and Will Power together lead to Mahatman or the awakening of the Great Soul.

 

Bibliography:

Norbert Weiner Cybernetics: Or Control and Communication in the Animal and the Machine. Paris, (Hermann & Cie) & Camb. Mass. (MIT Press); 1948.

Maxwell  Maltz, Psycho-Cybernetics: A New Way To Get More Living Out of Life Simon & Schuster. (1960).

Robert Kiyosaki and Sharon Lechter. Rich Dad Poor Dad: What the Rich Dad Teach Their Kids About Money That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not!,. Warner Business Books, 2000

Alan Richardson (1967) Mental Practice: A Review and Discussion Part I, Research Quarterly. American Association for Health, Physical Education and Recreation, 38:1, 95-107, DOI: 10.1080/10671188.1967.10614808

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