Session 1

Relaxation, the Key

In April 1975, M.B., age thirty-four, found himself in a Philadelphia hospital being prepared for surgery. His doctors had discovered that a spinal cord tumor in his neck was causing the progressive paralysis he had been experiencing in his arms and legs for the preceding two months. When the operation was over, the doctors gave him the bad news. They had not been able to remove the tumor because of its involvement with the spinal cord. It was malignant. He had but a year or two to live.

One year later, on the first anniversary of the operation, M.B. was due for an examination. The doctor found nothing. There was no evidence of a tumor. The same doctor who had told M.B. a year ago that he was terminally ill was now saying that he, the physician, must have made a mistake.

What had M.B. done in the interim? He had used the Silva Method.

It was about ten months after the operation that M.B. heard about the Silva Method and took the training. He had practiced what he learned there for only two months prior to his anniversary examination.

For about fifteen minutes, three times a day — upon arising, after lunch, and before retiring — M.B. relaxed deeply. He used a progressive relaxation technique, relaxing first his head, next his neck, then his shoulders, and in progression all of the rest of his body all the way down to his toes. Once relaxed, he pictured his body and the tumor. He imagined the tumor getting smaller. During each of these relaxation sessions he pictured the tumor a bit smaller than the last time. He also imagined that he could see his immune system — the white blood system — going after, dispersing, and eliminating the cancer cells. He told himself that these cancer cells were being passed out of his body every time he went to the bathroom. M.B. also gave himself positive instructions, repeating over and over in this relaxed, meditative state, "Every day, in every way, I'm getting better, better, and better."

When M.B. began to tell his doctor about these mental exercises, his doctor walked out of the room. The process was completely foreign to him. Physicians are rarely able to accept our ability to direct our minds to correct our bodies. These interactions are not taught in medical school — not yet.

It is in order to protect Silva graduates from being embarrassed by skeptics in their home towns that initials are used in many of the examples of healing cited in this book. Still, we occasionally receive a written report from a graduate who is so eager to share his or her success with others that permission is granted to use the full name. In many cases, these reports are even witnessed and notarized. Where that is the case, I have happily included the names in the case descriptions.

Activating More of Your Mind

By now, you have realized that the key to the Silva Method is relaxation. But the relaxation taught here is not passive. You will learn to relax actively. Both achieving and using this state of relaxation is an active process. By using our minds to relax and then to picture positive images, we are activating the creative role of our brain — a function of the right hemisphere that is seldom fully involved in our thinking.

Simply stated, the Silva Method places us in conscious control of deep levels of our mind. It enables us to employ relatively slow brain waves (alpha) to expand our awareness and our problem-solving abilities. Health problems are the easiest to solve, because we are in control of the very source of these problems.

Programming Our Behavior With Words and Pictures

Our bodies are equipped for self-healing. We interfere with this natural process by reacting to events with worry and stress. We can withdraw this interference by responding to external events with relaxed reactions.

We can also harness a healing energy by conceiving positive mental pictures and positive mentally verbalized instructions.

The Silva Method for better health is based on the use of positive mental instructions during relaxation. The method is simple and easy and becomes more effective with practice. Even though you are a beginner, expect a miracle. Your belief and expectations are a "green light" that tells your brain neurons to change your body's condition for the better.

The moment of decision has come. Do you want to gain more control over your life? If your answer is yes, you will profit not only with respect to your health but also in regard to every other facet of your life, as brain neurons that have either been loafing on the job or working against you are suddenly made to work for your betterment.

Because you cannot read this book and relax simultaneously, use this strategy. Read the instructions first; then put the book down, close...