(The NLP and hypnosis folks tend to call similar processes “trans-derivational search”, but I wouldn’t wish that term on anybody who’s not a specialist.)
I think the “focusing” thing is a bit more than just a transderivational search—or rather a specific application of the same thing. “focusing” contains a lot of instructions on where to point your curiosity and what you can get out of it.
I’m curious how you’d apply it. I mean, removing blocks to interest in a subject… boredom, disgust, etc. predicated on bad experiences or subliminally-absorbed stereotypes, I can see that. But building an interest? I guess I haven’t done much research into more generative techniques.
Well, removing blocks is definitely a big part of it. With no blocks there it’s just a conversation with system 1 about what’s important—and that part can often just happen on its own.
I think your “organize your desk” video is a good example on the small scale. People aren’t motivated to do it not just because they are blocking themselves with aversive associations but also because they’re not associating the good of the clean desk with the act of organizing it. Applied to interest in a subject is just a larger scale application of the same stuff. Instead of one picture of a clean desk, it’s a whole series of possible futures and possible payoffs and the like.
My strongest example—perhaps because I was most conscious of it having not yet integrated the skills—actually predates my departure on this mind hacking journey and in fact applies to the motivation I had to do it.
When I first realized that there’s big low hanging fruit it wasn’t a complete automatic takeover. I was still sorta interested in other hobbies which (according to system2) didn’t really pay off the same. And like, do you realize how important it is if half the stuff it seems like hypnosis might be able to do is actually possible?
So I had to deliberately spend some time thinking about the alternate ways I wanted to spend my time and actually visualizing where they’d go and what I’d get out of it. And doing the same for the much more uncertain future where I dive into this with more than mild curiosity. And then having deflated alternatives and connected it more strongly with the potential rewards, it had earned my fascination big time (since then it has been a fairly automatically self reinforcing thing). And the motivating images have changed, of course, as I get a more realistic/detailed idea of whats doable/desirable.
Sillier still that I haven’t organized all my notes yet. (Granted, I’m coming up on ten years’ worth now.) And yes, yes I am still working on all that stuff. I just haven’t been seriously promoting anything for sale for some years now, as I’ve been focused on finding methods for dealing with my worst blocks. That work is getting really close to done now, though… I hope. ;-)
Nah, that part is hard. I’m in a similar place myself, though not 10 years worth. I’ve been trying to organize them into blog posts as an easy to get down form of thoughts, but then I kinda got stuck tying the last pieces together and I’m backlogged 30 or so posts. But I’m “close” :). It tends to help when I have an interested person to bounce ideas off of and serve as a foil for organizing my thoughts (which I do have, and need to make more use of!).
Anyway, even if not as done as it “should” be for a vaguely meaningful sense of “should”, I wouldn’t call it silly the way it’s silly to not have said “yo, you wanna chat sometime and compare notes?”
Yo, you wanna chat sometime and compare—er, I mean organize notes?
I think the “focusing” thing is a bit more than just a transderivational search—or rather a specific application of the same thing. “focusing” contains a lot of instructions on where to point your curiosity and what you can get out of it.
Well, removing blocks is definitely a big part of it. With no blocks there it’s just a conversation with system 1 about what’s important—and that part can often just happen on its own.
I think your “organize your desk” video is a good example on the small scale. People aren’t motivated to do it not just because they are blocking themselves with aversive associations but also because they’re not associating the good of the clean desk with the act of organizing it. Applied to interest in a subject is just a larger scale application of the same stuff. Instead of one picture of a clean desk, it’s a whole series of possible futures and possible payoffs and the like.
My strongest example—perhaps because I was most conscious of it having not yet integrated the skills—actually predates my departure on this mind hacking journey and in fact applies to the motivation I had to do it.
When I first realized that there’s big low hanging fruit it wasn’t a complete automatic takeover. I was still sorta interested in other hobbies which (according to system2) didn’t really pay off the same. And like, do you realize how important it is if half the stuff it seems like hypnosis might be able to do is actually possible?
So I had to deliberately spend some time thinking about the alternate ways I wanted to spend my time and actually visualizing where they’d go and what I’d get out of it. And doing the same for the much more uncertain future where I dive into this with more than mild curiosity. And then having deflated alternatives and connected it more strongly with the potential rewards, it had earned my fascination big time (since then it has been a fairly automatically self reinforcing thing). And the motivating images have changed, of course, as I get a more realistic/detailed idea of whats doable/desirable.
Nah, that part is hard. I’m in a similar place myself, though not 10 years worth. I’ve been trying to organize them into blog posts as an easy to get down form of thoughts, but then I kinda got stuck tying the last pieces together and I’m backlogged 30 or so posts. But I’m “close” :). It tends to help when I have an interested person to bounce ideas off of and serve as a foil for organizing my thoughts (which I do have, and need to make more use of!).
Anyway, even if not as done as it “should” be for a vaguely meaningful sense of “should”, I wouldn’t call it silly the way it’s silly to not have said “yo, you wanna chat sometime and compare notes?”
Yo, you wanna chat sometime and compare—er, I mean organize notes?