José Silva was a self-taught parapsychologist and author who developed the Silva Method, a form of hypnosis that aims to help people make positive changes in their lives by using their subconscious mind. He claimed that his method could help people increase their IQ, develop psychic abilities, heal themselves and others, and achieve their goals. But how did José Silva die? What was the cause of his death? And what legacy did he leave behind?
Early Life and Career
José Silva was born in Laredo, Texas, in 1914. He was orphaned at the age of six and had to support his family by doing various jobs. He never attended school, but learned to read and write by himself. He also taught himself electronics and became a successful radio repairman. He later created an electronics training program for a local college and built the largest electronics repair business in south Texas.
During World War II, Silva joined the Signal Corps and became interested in psychology and hypnosis. He began to study the brain waves and the electrical activity of the human brain. He also experimented with his own children, trying to improve their IQs and psychic abilities by using hypnosis and mental exercises. He believed that he had found a way to access a higher level of consciousness and intuition by entering a state of relaxed awareness known as the alpha state.
The Silva Method
In the 1950s, Silva started to teach his techniques to others and founded the Silva Mind Control Method. He claimed that his method could help people overcome their problems, enhance their creativity, develop their intuition, and achieve their full potential. He also said that his method could enable people to heal themselves and others by using mental imagery and positive affirmations.
Silva’s method became popular in the 1960s and 1970s, especially among the New Age movement. He wrote several books on his method, such as The Silva Mind Control Method of Mental Dynamics, You the Healer, and The Silva Method: Tapping the Secrets of Your Mind for Total Self-Mastery. He also created audio programs, seminars, and courses to teach his method to millions of people around the world.
Silva’s method was based on four main principles:
- Humans have two types of awareness: objective and subjective.
- Objective awareness is related to the outer world and uses the five senses, logic, and reason. It operates mainly in the beta state of brain waves (14-21 cycles per second).
- Subjective awareness is related to the inner world and uses imagination, intuition, and emotion. It operates mainly in the alpha state of brain waves (7-14 cycles per second).
- By learning to enter and control the alpha state, humans can use their subjective awareness to influence their objective reality.
Silva’s method consisted of several steps:
- Relaxing the body and mind by using breathing techniques, progressive muscle relaxation, and mental commands.
- Entering the alpha state by counting down from 10 to 1 or using a mental device such as a mirror or a screen.
- Programming the subconscious mind by using positive affirmations, mental imagery, or visualization.
- Testing the results by using feedback mechanisms such as finger signals or pendulums.
- Repeating the process until the desired outcome is achieved.
Death and Legacy
Silva died peacefully in February 1999 at the age of 84. He had completed his final creation shortly before he died: The Silva UltraMind ESP System. This system was designed to help people develop and use their own extrasensory perception (ESP) to communicate with higher intelligence and obtain guidance in fulfilling their mission in life.
Silva’s death did not stop his work from spreading and influencing millions of people. His books have been translated into dozens of languages and his courses have been taught in over 100 countries. Many celebrities, athletes, artists, entrepreneurs, and leaders have credited Silva’s method for their success. Some of them include Richard Bach, Wayne Dyer, Shakti Gawain, Mark Victor Hansen, Louise Hay, Jack Canfield, Bill Gates, Oprah Winfrey, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Deepak Chopra, Tony Robbins, and José Mourinho.
Silva’s method has also been criticized by some scientists, skeptics, and religious groups for being pseudoscientific, unproven, or dangerous. Some of them argue that Silva’s method is based on false or outdated assumptions about the brain and consciousness. Others claim that Silva’s method is a form of self-delusion or self-hypnosis that can lead to mental disorders or spiritual deception.
Despite these criticisms, Silva’s method remains one of the most popular and influential forms of self-improvement in the world. His followers believe that his method can help them achieve their dreams and make the world a better place.
According to MindPerk, José Silva’s life is more than a great American success story. It has transcended time and space to become one of the world’s all-time great success stories. His legacy is his method, which he called “the most important discovery in the history of humanity”.
