Somehow, I got on a mailing list for an outfit called the “Nightingale-Conant Corporation.” A few days ago, they sent me a big slick envelope, with the following message on it:
Hypno-Peripheral Processing
The New Psycho-Technology
That Connects You With
Your Own Subconscious Mind
For Effortless Achievement
Experience it FREE for 30 Days!
I saved the envelope, because I wanted to show it to my students, as an example of something to be avoided at all costs. I once knew a psychiatrist who became entranced with a method of “therapy” that involved the doctor placing her hands on the patient’s head, and squeezing the patient’s head, so as to “redistribute cerebrospinal fluid in the ventricles,” thereby (supposedly!) curing various cognitive/emotional/behavioral problems. It’s frightening, and sad, to see how easily people can be seduced into promises that something shiny and new will give them happiness (it might be a new “psycho-technology,” or it might be a new flat screen TV…).
The hopeful counterpoint to all this is that there is quite a bit of research activity in the area of “positive psychology,” aimed at scientifically exploring ways that genuinely contribute to human flourishing and well-being. Check out the Seligman website for an introduction to that area.
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