Saturday, June 18, 2011

Using The Socratic Method To Liberate People

Keep in mind that this is not an article of rules. I break these rules all the time, however there are inescapable guide lines within this article that are crucial to understanding this method and why it works. 

You will not understand this if you don't read the entire thing. So if you want to literally make liberating people a joy to do, something that is a thrilling and positive memory and experience for each seeker, you'll want to read this entire post. You'll figure out how to get the seeker working hard to answer your questions and comply - and how that compliance will make the liberation faster than you thought possible. 1-2 hours of work is all that is needed. If they aren't liberated by then, there is a very high probability that they WILL get liberated on their own. 

Basics

The Best Medium For Using SM
The best medium for this is skype. I don't like face-to-face cam chat because it just puts pressure that doesn't let the seeker think if your just sitting there looking at them. 

Signs That a Seeker Is Looking Properly - And Why That Frees Up Your Time
When you have a good seeker who shuts the fuck up and thinks for a long time (which is a good thing because it means they are really looking hard) you can basically spend a passive hour or two shooting questions while you do other things like blog or write a paper of school or watch cartoons or w/e.

Keeping Their Attention On A Leash
This is not about debating or arguing with the seeker. It is literally total control of the interaction. And it is also literally as close to total control of the seekers focus.

It gives you more control of the seekers attention. Its an extremely tight leash with a narrow view. Sometimes you'll get someone who wants to assert their ideas or w/e but that's when you realize your about to waste a precious hour or 2 of liberating time and it's time to yank them back to the path.

You yank them to the path by:
  • Not talking about anything that does not lead to 'no you'
  • Not explaining anything at all but making them understand by answering questions
  • Not talking about 'no you' directly. Not even mentioning it. 
Removing Cognitive Dissonance
I can't stress that enough. There is a psychological theory called Cognitive dissonance that leaves the brain with a nagging feeling when a certain task hasn't been completed (that's just one form of CD). They won't be able to answer your questions 100% if their subconscious is trying to answer "Who am I?". So if you notice they are trying to answer each question in the context of this sub question you have to smash it asap. 

How I Know A Liberation Is Pure
The main way for me to know if a liberation is pure, is if that person has never heard of 'no you' before. And after questioning they say it them selves. Here is a perfect example. 

who's pure source of thought?

ok this might sound stupid

lol its ok

It doesnt belong to anyone

yes
that is exactly correct

I found it really hard to say that man

thats the breaking point
is it true?
5:05pm
it does seem to be now ive thought about it



You've got it man. Keep digging
tell me what you see
whats going through you rmind

5:07pm
Theres nothing behind it
its like, its just there
exactly
yesss!
is it true?

I've been able to crack 3 people from RSD within 1-2 hours. But, it was nearly flawless! So simple and smooth.

Screening Worthy Prospects
I don't like to approach people about it anymore. If they come to me there is a good chance they are willing to surrender control of the interaction and just go with it. They show their willingness to understand and see.

How To Get People To Approach You
I found this accidentally in the past when I wrote something on mediation in facebook group for the peeps at RSD.

People started messaging me on facebook asking me to help them out, and saying that my insight made no sense to them but that it displayed a deep understanding they couldn't see.

Its funny because to us its stupidly obvious. And after liberating some of them they'd go back and re-read the thread and be like "HOLY SHIT THIS MAKES 100% sense now!" I wrote a 'funnel page' to RT on it here.

Another Reason To Keep A Tight Leash With The SM Only Policy
They have a trillion ideas floating around in their mind. This is why I like to not talk about anything or explain anything because it removes the minds ability to take a foreign concept to try and understand it.

Their mind is like a ravenous wolf consuming every concept and idea. I like to take this extreme energy and sensitivity and direct it in the right places by asking questions. Sometimes rewording the questions so they understand the question better.

Getting the Seeker To Properly LOOK
Make sure that the seeker understand what it means to look. If you don't get this down then they will give you answers at face value.

Sometimes the seeker will immediately understand when you articulate it in a few different ways and have them describe back to you, in their own words, what it is your asking of them to do. 

You'll find that if still aren't 'looking' properly, after some 'practice questions' they will start really looking and giving honest real answers. 

Bringing The Fire
Don't be afraid to show lay your foot down and say something like "I'm giving you until 10:05 (5 minutes) to say something that is true. If I don't something worth reading I'm blocking you. And I'm not fucking kidding."

The effect this has is to cause them to have tons of pressure. They probably won't give you much of value because their brain is jammed with the pressure. It's happened to me a bunch of times. But after the time is up there is a kind of release and a feeling of "I fucked up. Fuck it." and for some reason this lets a person see things a little more clearly. 

That's after the 5 minutes are up. So just sit there and let them type away, and don't say a peep.

Let them know that some of the questions may seem like an insult to their intelligence. It helps to let them know that if they feel that way to just remember its just a process.

The Questioning

With some time using this method in my secret lab I've found that a few little understandings are extremely helpful when questioning.

The Let the Seeker's Brain Auto Correct 
First, You have to remember that the human brain isn't as fast as an intel dual core micro processor. When you ask a question it takes time for them to give a real answer. It almost always takes time. 

When they give you a quick answer is like your browser displaying old information from its cache memory. You can to his 'refresh' constantly. Thankfully, the brain does this automatically if you give it a few seconds. 

I've had people give me really stupid answer. I don't say anything. I just stay quite. Then soon, they keep writing and correct themselves. And then when they correct themselves I reward them (more on rewarding later)

Rephrasing Questions
Try to keep your terminology loose. Adopt their own words for describing the same thing. This is how I'm able to communicate with people are are deeply religious, unschooled in science or psychology, or from another language. I wish I'd have saved a conversation I had with a very religious girl. Stephen and Viv read bits of it and they can tell you a little about it.

Psychological Devices
Some psychological device I noticed I started to use naturally were these
  • Rewarding
  • Presuppositions
Rewarding the seeker by actually boosting their ego when they give a right answer is helpful because it gives them confidence in their ability to think for themselves. 

It keeps them there with you longer, and it gets them working harder and harder to crack this. They start to feel like "Hey, I'm doing good? Wow! Maybe I will be able to crack this!". They don't feel as lost anymore. It makes the liberation an enjoyable and thrilling experience.  

I like to do it after every single truth they speak. Every time they say something true, and answer a question correctly.... especially after they've been struggling with it for a while (in which case I show them even more excitement and reward) I reward them saying "Excellent! Dude, your doing awesome." Or "Fantastics, That is exactly correct." 

People like to feel that they are doing things right. It feels good to know they are right. They will probably never forget the experience because of all the positive feedback compounding each time they struggle for an answer and give a good one (These questions are easy to answer anyways). 

Its like using the very flaw of ego its self to get them going "Ok, gotta get the validation! Boom! Got it! Feels good.. Ok gotta get the validation again! Boom! Ahh yess! AGAIN!" and that repeats until finally "ZOOM" they fuckin zen the fuck out for a little while once they see it. 

Those are the most enjoyable liberation because they go so smoothly. 

Presuppositions are the way you phrase questions. This is a very useful tool because people use them all the time without realizing it. Its literally part of  what keeps people trapped in certain paradigms or holding different assumptions. 

This is really a silly little thing that you'll pick up with enough practice so just breezing past this concept is the most anyone needs to do.

Basically when I say anything like "Do you want 1 or 2 apples" I'm presuming that you 1, want apples, 2, want anywhere between 1 or 2 apples, and 3, that you want anything at all. 

Another example of this is when you say things like "When you get this you'll understand". It presupposes that its only a matter of time before they understand it. That its inevitable to happen. It gives them confidence and hope and makes them work harder to see, and since your guiding them with the right questions, the harder they work, the faster the liberation. 

Getting Them To Look Deeper
When they give a so-so answer I'll just say "Keep going". And then sit back and let them think. If they give a wrong answer I say "try again". 

Question/Thought Loops For When You Run Out Of Time
Thought Loop 1: When I'm about to run out of time I tell them to find the physical counter part that "I" refers to in any statement that uses the word "I". This will get them to explore like crazy. 

Thought Loop 2: I have them answer the following questions. This sends them in an infinite loop. Kind of like taking a penny and flicking it on its side on a smooth table. It'll spin and spin and spin and spin. Eventually it'll start to wobble, and then finally it'll just drop. That's the point at which the seeker sees it. 

Post Questioning
Obviously, its not necessary to pump their ego anymore at this point because that would be counter productive. Consider them new born babies at this stage who are just learning how to adjust their eyes to the light.

You've got to remember they've been in a dream their whole life. This is literally like being born out of a wild and hostile environment. It takes time for them to learn how to see. They are literally now just discovering what is what. Just like a baby learns that a hot stove will burn them, that shitting their pants isn't the way to do it...etc

Conclusion
This is an exercise in empathy. The more you can really get inside the experience of another person, the easier it is for you to liberate them. To help them understand. 

 

3 comments:

  1. Jesus Fucking Christ, Nick.

    People have bitched me shitless to break people free with a softer, cleaner method.

    You actually scratch-built one.

    This is amazing. I'm going to get this out to the rest of RT, and I need your help. This is fucking brilliant. Really. Amazing shit. Just so solid, so real. Clean, effective, potent, everything it needs to be. You did something amazing when you distilled this, dude, this is outstanding. Thanks. From the bottom of my heart, thanks.

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  2. Ok, what would help is if you put, just here in the comments, some links to a couple of full pieces where you've done this, just so everyone can immediately see it in action.

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  3. Honeslty I've been a lazy asshole about that. So when these next people crack I'll post them up and add the links to this comment section

    ReplyDelete