you probably know, Daniel Goleman first coined the term amygdala hijacks to describe the function of a specific part of the brain (the amygdala) overriding a person's ability to think. This Manual takes that concept of hijacking and extends it beyond the amygdala to greater instances of reflexive human behaviour caught up in emotions, desires and trickery. Rather than scientific explanations, this Manual explores the human experience of hijacks based on extensive interdisciplinary research and anecdotal practical experience.
For the sake of this Manual, neuro-hijacking is defined to mean when the attention brain, the feeling brain or the sensing brain bypasses the thinking brain. That's it.
Neuro-hijacking is when the Attention Brain or the Feeling Brain or the Sensing Brain bypasses the Thinking Brain.
The result is that your FOCUS gets directed by what captures your attention and you can FEEL strong desires and emotions without even needing to THINK before you react.
These neuro-hijacks affect you like real drugs in your system. And they work so well because they play into pre-existing frailties of human cognition. It is only by learning about them that you can ever overcome them.
It's important to keep an open mind as you learn about neuro-hijacking. Neuro-hijacking can be so powerful that it can even trick you into thinking you’re thinking, when you’re really running on limited senses, unchecked desires and pure emotion. Indeed, the ONLY real way to break the spell is to learn about how the spell is cast. It is THAT powerful.
But the power of neuro-hijacking is not always a bad thing. In fact, if you have the mental fortitude to command neuro-hijacking (rather than to be enslaved by it) then you can turn the tables and use this power in a positive way: to gain incredible motivation, a better quality of life and a greater influence to affect the social systems around you. Imagine turbocharging your car with re-generating fuel that will keep you driving for days, and months, and years on end. So don't be so quick to dismiss neuro-hijacking as inherently bad because you can easily flip it to your advantage and make it good.
What is This For?
This Manual is a thinking prompt designed to give you greater psychological power over yourself and in human relations so you can (magically):
go from thinking in 2D to thinking in 10D
overcome neuro-hijack conflicts
break free from neuro-hijacks that control you in a bad way
use neuro-hijacking to enhance your life for the better
help others when they are being hijacked and want your help.
This Manual will cover 11 neuro-hijacks (Gifts & Charms) and the Pocket-Sized Swiss Army Knife of 20 tools (PSAK) to manage these Gifts & Charms for the good of your self and your community.
This Manual is:
NOT medical advice. Any misdescriptions reflect a lack of medical expertise, not a deliberate attempt to make false descriptions. For both our sake's, medical references have been kept to a minimum.
NOT the holy grail for every psychological problem to ever plague humanity. But even if it could be that, it's not trying to be that anyway.
Rather, the purpose of this Manual is to expose the mental algorithms of invisible Gifts & Charms, so as to give you a clearer sense of what each neuro-hijack feels like when you might be otherwise blinded by one.
Once you have a clearer sense of what each neuro-hijack feels like, then you can start to call them out in practice. And when you can do that, then you can gain power over them to create a better quality of life for your self and your community.
How to Use This Manual
Think of this Manual like a detox to clear out mental and emotional contaminants that are hijacking your thinking. Whenever you feel stuck in conflict or blinded by the fog of emotions, return to this Manual to detox your system and the way out will be re-lit for you in these pages.
You can detox just once or you can design your own extended treatment plan: returning to this Manual day after day until you feel you're operating sans toxins.
Once you feel you have detoxed, then you can start to use the power of these Gifts & Charms to enhance your own life.
You will also develop a better sense of detecting and commanding these Gifts & Charms in social and work settings.
You may be shocked at (1) how common these are (like Panadol/Tylenol in a supermarket); and (2) the raw power of these Gifts & Charms to invisibly change hearts and minds.
Don't be fooled: these Gifts & Charms are not soft, mushy "feelings" that belong in kindergarten lessons. These Gifts & Charms are among the most sophisticated persuasion devices known to man. Wherever you find people, you will find these Gifts & Charms at work. They exist in multi-million dollar disputes, in politics, in every workplace, in relationships of every kind.
The power is yours. Use it wisely.
This is NOT a Death Threat
Do not abuse this power. The Manual can give you a god-like emotional power over others without their awareness. But before you get all excited, plotting global domination like you're the next Hitler: not so fast. This god-like power also comes with a god-like responsibility: to do the right thing and to not abuse this power for personal gain or perverse pleasure.
Why?
For starters, don't be evil. Just don't.
Not sold yet?
Here's three selfish reasons to be good:
1 The stupidest thing you could ever do is to make someone feel like you've cheated them. "Feeling cheated" hits deep-rooted emotions. it provokes violent, blinding rage and revenge. Think Glenn Close in Fatal Attraction. Or the lunatic who imprisons another man in a room for 15 years in Old Boy. Seriously, you are basically digging your own grave. And the funny thing is that this person could have willingly offered you real value that could have improved your life, but now they're just a liability. Only a dumb-ass donkey would not get that. You're not a dumb-ass donkey, are you?
2 Never forget that people will cut off their own arm if they discover it to be diseased. Yes, people will lie, steal and cheat, and part of their brain will even light up at the thought of this naughtiness. And yes, people will continue to confuse "what is good" with "what is bad". But when you clear the fog of those baser impulses and confusion, the human animal is innately drawn to what is ultimately
