The Silva Method is the name given to a self-help program developed by José Silva, which claims to increase an individual's IQ and sense of personal well-being through relaxation and by developing their higher brain functions. Proponents believe that it can improve a person's self image, allow them to think in a clearer manner, and that it can assist people in overcoming conditions such as nicotine addiction.
According to notable author Arthur C. Clarke and former stage magician James Randi, the Silva method consists of the application of positive thinking, visualization meditation, and self hypnosis. Some, including Silva himself, believe that it can be used to develop paranormal abilities such as ESP, and that practicing it can allow you to tap into a higher consciousness. It has been criticized as pseudoscience.
The Silva Method is one of a number of therapeutic techniques sometimes grouped under the name Human Potential Movement.
Read more about Silva Method: History, Technique, Controversy
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“Everyone was tired with the old style politicians and their flowery rhetoric. I just told them there are tough times ahead, but that they would be less tough with me in charge.”
—Anibal Cavaco Silva (b. 1939)
“The method of authority will always govern the mass of mankind; and those who wield the various forms of organized force in the state will never be convinced that dangerous reasoning ought not to be suppressed in some way.”
—Charles Sanders Peirce (1839–1914)