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The basis for the approach I've pursued came from a book called The Biology of Belief [1], by former Stanford stem-cell researcher Bruce Lipton. The book is about epigenetics, and the way environmental factors - particularly the influence of subconscious beliefs on the perception of your environment, can influence physiological health. I found it compelling and I seem to have benefited by pursuing the ideas, but it's not for everyone; despite his scientific background his primary audience these days is the New Age market, and I know his way of articulating his ideas is too woo-woo for many. But he is entertaining.

The method I've used for trauma clearing is called NET [2] which came out of the chiropractic world, but I've since learned how to do it myself so I no longer need to spend money on chiropractors, most of whom I now regard as quacks.

The closest version of the technique I now use is a method called Self Clearing, demonstrated in this video [3] by an Australian guy called Dane Thomas.

I'm well aware that all this stuff will seem like quackery to many; as a former devotee of Dawkins and Hitchens, it sure did to me, but my ongoing health struggles necessitated a willingness to try anything, and of the many things I tried, this has been the one that's delivered results.

[1] http://www.amazon.com/The-Biology-Belief-Unleashing-Consciou...

[2] https://www.netmindbody.com/more-information/an-introduction...

[3] http://clearyourshit.com/self-clearing-foundations-1/




There's a bunch of illnesses that are physically debillitating but that don't seem to have physical explanations. They often respond well to psychological talking therapy treatments.

So the problem is letting people know that they may well cure their health condition with a talking therapy without making it sound like you're dismissing them as malingerers. And there's also a need to stop them stigmatising mental health problems ("no! My illness is real! It's not in my head")

So, thanks for talking about what helped you.


Heh, I remember years ago reading about a medical researcher whose research suggested the cause of chronic fatigue syndrome was primarily emotional. This so enraged CFS sufferers that some of them issued death threats against her - which is a excellent way to prove you have no emotional issues :)

But I understand the feeling and have had that kind of frustration and anger myself (without the death threats of course!) before I found the technique that turned out to be effective.

There's a vast difference between "it's all in your mind, pull yourself together and get on with it", and "good news, it's all in your mind, and if you follow this very specific program to clear your mind, you can achieve perfect health".

But few know what that program is yet, or even know that it exists, but that's something I'd like to do what I can to change.


Remember that placebo is a well known phenomena, so far without any reasonable explanation. It is there and obviously, hope, no matter its source, helps.


Actually The Biology of Belief proposes a very sound hypothesis for the placebo effect.


Why a former devotee? Why is this orthogonal to their spiels?


I still find value in much of what they espouse(d). But there's also a lot of dogma and belligerence in their words, which I used to enjoy but I now find a turnoff.


Skepticism is important (especially to religious believers), but it doesn't give you a clue about the right path in life. Anger, the strongest asset of Dawkins et al., will not help you or me in any way. Ever.


Yep, I found that their anti-religion was a religion of its own, and one that seemed to license its followers to be far more angry and mean than most of the followers of the religions they criticized.




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