INTRODUCTION

"Doc, I can't do it, but I have to", drawled John. "Can you help me?" John is a lanky man with the weathered face of one who has worked long hours in the sun. He sits stiffly, moving with obvious pain. Tomorrow, he is scheduled to go into the hospital for a diagnostic procedure in which a long needle will be inserted into his spinal canal under local anesthesia and a dye injected.

John is no stranger to this process, having suffered it four times before. Work injury. Ruptured disc. Surgery. Auto accident. More surgery. Still in pain. Each time he has had the procedure, he has become more anxious. Last time, he got up in the middle of the process. Fortunately, he wasn't injured, but he could have been paralyzed permanently. His doctor recommends psychotherapy, so I spend two hours with John. The next day, he has the procedure. No problem. He comes through with flying colors. It doesn't even bother him much.

Magic? Hardly. It's technology. Psychotechnology. John is the recipient of a quiet revolution that has been taking place in psychological laboratories and clinics all around the world, a revolution in our understanding of that stuff between your ears.

The mysteries of the mind are finally yielding to the disciplined scrutiny of science. We are on the threshold of achieving a true technology of mind. Already, there are methods for helping people to quickly overcome fears, anxiety, depression, guilt, anger, shyness, insecurity and other debilitating emotional conditions. Not always in two hours, but often in a matter of days or weeks, not years.

The modern cognitive-behavioral psychologist may be a far cry from the stereotype of a pipe smoking analyst who rarely speaks except to offer an arcane interpretation. Neither is he or she merely a sympathetic and supportive counselor who gives advice. The emerging model of the modern psychologist is of a scientist, a systems analyst. He or she is an expert who helps people develop a specific, real life skill, the ability to eliminate or reduce errors and bugs in the software of the mind.

The cognitive revolution in psychology views the brain as an information processing system. It is tempting to draw the obvious analogy to the computer, another information processing system, but this comparison fails in many respects. The mind is an information processing system, yes, but a uniquely biological one, a living thing.

I prefer to describe the brain as a "biocontroller" rather than a computer. This term highlights the principal function of the brain, which is control, not computation. The brain regulates the body, controlling breathing, blood pressure, hormone secretion, muscular contractions and a myriad of other physiological processes.

More importantly from a psychological standpoint, the brain controls behavior. Eating, sleeping, talking, thinking, walking, wooing; everything you do is under the direction of your biocontroller.

Parts of your brain are in some ways like a computer, or more accurately, like a super computer made up of many subordinate computers. Further, it is useful to draw the distinction between software and hardware for the brain as well as for the computer. In this view, the brain is the hardware, the mind is the software.

Even with computers, however, this distinction is not always sharp. Some programs, called firmware, are built into the hardware. This arrangement is common in the brain, although there is a good deal of programming in software as well. In this book, I present a model of the mind I call Neurocybernetic Psychology. The first chapter overviews the hardware of the brain and the software of the mind, including an explanation of the common "programming errors" and "bugs" found in the human mind. Details of the model are presented in the Technical Specifications section.

The main purpose of the book, however, is to help you use your brain better. You will learn how to troubleshoot your mind to eliminate or reduce the bothersome glitches that are so common to the current model of human biocontroller. I will show you how to use your mind like the fine instrument it is, tapping more of it's vast resources of wisdom and power. By mastering yourself, you can communicate better, improve interpersonal relationships and create greater success and satisfaction in your life. In short, this book is an owner's manual for the human mind.