September 19, 2024 • 30 mins
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How often do you feel the pressure to have an opinion on everything, and does it ever feel overwhelming? Join Hilary and Les in a compelling coffee chat where we unpack the true essence of critical thinking and how it shapes our mental well-being. We address common misconceptions, emphasizing that it's perfectly okay to not have a viewpoint on every issue, which can significantly ease mental strain. By recognizing our own biases, we can better utilize our minds for greater happiness and peace.
In this episode, we also discuss the powerful role of fear in manipulation, urging you to question the motives behind fear-inducing messages. From the ethical dilemmas in business marketing to the commodification of free information, we navigate these complex topics with a critical eye. Lastly, explore the transformative power of hypnosis for personal growth, and learn how SOM Hypnosis can help you achieve your life goals. Tune in for these valuable insights, and thank you for being part of our State of Mind community.
Check out the resources at the website:
https://thethinkingshop.org/
We hope this helps a little as you go through your day.
We would love to hear your feedback or questions.
We will respond to both in future episodes.
Check us out at
www.somhypnosis.com
Email us at
info@somhypnosis.com
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:08):
Welcome and thank you for joining us for Coffee with
Hilary and Les.
Brought to you by the State ofMind Hypnosis and Training
Centre located in the heart ofthe Kawartha Lakes.
This is our almost dailycommunity podcast about the mind
and how we all might change itin the most simple and helpful
(00:30):
ways.
Every day we sit staring at thelake and sipping our coffee,
chatting about hypnosis and howto make those meaningful
adjustments to our state of mind, because nothing's more
important than your state ofmind, because nothing's more
important than your state ofmind already already.
Speaker 2 (00:54):
My eyes are still up shot.
We're thinking more aboutcritical thinking.
Speaker 1 (01:03):
Critical thinking.
Hillary has a mental block.
Speaker 2 (01:11):
I don't want to think about critical thinking.
Yeah, I do.
I'm making faces now, adam.
I like I think I've neverreally thought about critical
(01:37):
thinking before, so this is verynew to me in lots of ways.
Oh, my god, you know I'm notnaive for the most part and you
(02:05):
know I look for the truth orwhat seems to be the truth at
the time.
But yeah, I learned little bitsof critical thinking over the
years in school and universityand college and stuff.
So you know I have my favoritebiases and fallacies and all the
stuff on these papers that I'mshaking around.
(02:26):
Just hang on.
Speaker 1 (02:29):
There's some really great websites on this stuff and
, of course, there's some reallygreat books too.
But there was a group of guyswho I'll try to make sure it
goes into the notes they createdthey're very committed to
critical thinking.
Sometimes when I read theirstuff, I think that they're not
(02:50):
using their critical thinking,but the point is is that they're
very committed to criticalthinking and helping people get
past just flaws in logic andmostly their biases.
We have we all have biasesthings that we trust more than
(03:10):
other things, and and thatthat's that's.
Those sheets that you'relooking at are just some simple
summaries that they created inthere.
They've done pretty well and Ithink that they're valuable.
If somebody wanted to spend sometime and say you know, am I
using my mind for my own highest, best purpose?
(03:32):
Am I?
You know?
I think there's.
There's times when we trickourselves and you know those
times are more frequent than wethink there.
There are times when we trickourselves into doing and saying
and and pursuing things thataren't necessarily helpful to us
, and I think that you know themind is this, this, this big,
(03:59):
broad thing that has infinitepotential, and it's really about
how we use it that determineswhat we get out of it, and it
has the potential to make you sopowerful and effective and
happy and loving and caring, andit also has the capacity to
(04:23):
drive you down into the darkness.
You know, I have an old friendwho says you're going to ground
right, You're going way down andyou're not flying and soaring
anymore.
It has the capacity to trick usinto thinking things that
aren't true.
It has the ability to get usangry and resentful and
(04:44):
frustrated, and and dwelling inemotions that are really
unpleasant, and it's all goingon inside us, right?
it's all going on inside ourmind.
So it's just another tool,another, another bunch of things
(05:04):
to think about, to try tomaximize your own happiness and
your own sense of peace withwhat's going on around you.
It really can affect how youinterpret what's going on around
you and it's the meaning ofwhat's going on around me, and
it's the meaning of what's goingon around me that determines
(05:27):
how I feel about it, how myemotions are, and emotions are
the things that we probablycomplain about the most feeling
down and feeling scared andfeeling anxious and and not
feeling safe and not feelingappreciated and not feeling
loved.
(05:48):
Right, so there are ways to useyour thinking capacity to help
you to feel better, and that'swhy I like the topic of critical
thinking.
Speaker 2 (06:02):
But you don't like it so much you can be honest, it's
okay well, like you asked mebefore we started the podcast
today, I was.
I guess I came to the table,like I said the other day,
(06:26):
thinking that critical thinkingwas like in my life.
It was used as like what'swrong with you, like don't live
in a bubble, like do yourresearch.
I feel like to be a criticalthinker.
I'd have to be researching bothsides of everything all day and
(06:51):
, yeah, I feel smart enough thatI can make up my own opinions
now based on what I see aroundme.
I mean, we all get sucked intomedia land and get drawn along
(07:14):
and a lot of the time they wantthat right.
Speaker 1 (07:18):
That's what we're trying to do Mm-hmm.
Speaker 2 (07:22):
But you know, when I hear, like what we said the
other day, cats and dogs beingeaten, I don't, uh, I don't go
down that rabbit hole andbelieve it to be true.
Speaker 1 (07:40):
Um, so, um, so, yeah, well, I think so, so let's use
this as the first reframe of theday, One of the things that,
like I think you hit the nail onthe head when you said I feel
like I could be researching allday long so that I could be sure
that my opinion is valid.
Speaker 2 (08:00):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (08:01):
But you would only do that because you've made an
assumption that you should havean opinion on it.
Yeah, but you would only dothat because you've made an
assumption that you should havean opinion on it.
Speaker 2 (08:08):
Yeah, so I mean it all comes down to?
Does this all even matter?
There you go.
So I really need an opinion oneverything.
Speaker 1 (08:17):
That's it.
So there's your first reframe.
I don't need to have an opinionon everything.
I don't need to have an opinionon everything.
I don't need to have an opinionon everything.
I am free not to have anopinion on lots of things, right
?
First of all, opinions arereally sometimes pointless
things because, by their verydefinition, what they mean is I
(08:38):
don't know.
But this is the conclusion I'vecome to based on the limited
information I have.
And and you're right, if I wanteven that opinion to be
meaningful, I've got to go anddo all kinds of research.
And I've got to research bothsides.
If I really want to understand,I have to listen to both sides.
And the first question is do Icare?
(08:59):
I don't live in Springfield,I'm not concerned about the US's
immigration policy.
I don't need to have an opinionon that.
So I'm not going to explore totry to figure out if it's true.
But one thing I'm not going todo I'm not going to take
somebody else's opinion and makeit my own.
(09:21):
I'm not going to just adoptsomebody else who's talking,
talking, talking and wants togenerate.
I know they want.
You know, in the US they're sofocused on and it's happening in
Canada now too.
I can't say the US, I thinkit's everywhere now in politics
they're focused more on tryingto hate the other side than they
(09:42):
are on trying to convince youthat they know what they're
going to do.
And they don't.
They don't know what they'regoing to do, they don't know
what's going to happen.
They don't know what theirpolicies are going to be.
They don't want you to vote forthem because oh, look at my
really great policy.
They want you to vote for thembecause you hate the other side.
So it's easier to generatehatred for people, clickbait
(10:04):
hatred.
This is the stuff that'sdriving our information world
right, and so if I can look atthat and say there's nothing,
I'm gonna read today.
That's going to be completelytrue there's nothing and no one
today that I can completelytrust.
so what I have to do is not bebaited into everything.
(10:27):
I have to pick what I careabout.
I have to decide that I don'tneed an opinion on everything.
I'm quite happy to say I don'thave an opinion on that and I'm
not really concerned with thatand I don't see how it relates
to my life today.
I don't see how it's somethingI need to engage in today, right
(10:54):
now.
Sorry, if I really need toembrace this idea, I'll go do my
research and I'll try to befair in my research.
So really, what criticalthinking I think starts with is
knowing the difference betweenfacts and opinions, knowing that
an opinion is just somebody'stemporary conclusion based on a
(11:16):
limited set of facts.
Conclusion based on a limitedset of facts that they're
probably voicing their opinionto me because they want to
influence what I think.
I don't have to let that in.
I don't have to have an opinionon this.
I don't have to know all aboutwhat's going on in Springfield.
I don't.
I can just say, oh well, I cansee why other people are
(11:39):
concerned with that.
I'm not going to be today.
So I think the first part ofcritical thinking is just
pulling up that block that saysI don't have to have an opinion
on this.
I know that opinions are notmeaningful things unless you're
fighting, unless you're fighting, and if you want to be fully
engaged in a fight, then I guessyou better do your research and
(12:02):
you better have really qualityopinions.
Um, but you don't have to befighting.
Speaker 2 (12:09):
Yeah, yeah, you don't have to be.
Speaker 1 (12:12):
You can smile and not .
You can giggle at the funnystuff that comes up on Tik TOK.
You can.
You can pass over the sillymemes that come up in your feed.
You can notice how ai isshaping your clickbait to get
you to click, to get you to staythere, right?
(12:34):
I think what makes criticalthinking so hard today is that,
without really realizing it,we're just consuming so much.
Let's just call it allinformation.
Let's just call it allinformation.
The stuff that's true, thestuff that's false, the stuff
that's hilarious, the stuffthat's infuriating.
(12:56):
It's just all information.
It's information.
Can't's just all information.
It's information.
Can't know whether or not it'strue, can't know whether or not
it's real.
You know, can't even look at avideo and be sure that that's
actually that person doing thatthing anymore, right, you just
can't know.
So it becomes more of a.
How do I deal with all thisinformation?
(13:18):
Yeah, well, you know, I getdrawn into it because I like
having my phone in my hand andwhenever there's nothing else to
do, I seem to turn to my phoneand there's another piece of
yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (13:40):
I feel like when we look out into the media right
now, when we look out into theworld, that I'm always sort of
(14:02):
going to come back to and I trymy best.
I'm not always good at it, butI try to come back to the idea
of when you're looking at likeyou talk about clickbait stuff,
we talk about the media,anything that is out there, and
(14:25):
we're looking at it and it andit causes fear, I always I try
to critically think if I want togive it that word, those words
about that stuff, right, whywould they want to be generating
fear in me?
Um, and so that's for mesomething that stands out, that
(14:51):
I go okay, no, I don't even wantto engage in that.
Um.
So I tell my clients, I tellpeople on podcasts, on YouTube
and stuff, like, don't try yourbest not to go towards the fear.
Love, stay in the peace, stayin the even if the comedy brings
(15:31):
peace to you.
Speaker 1 (15:31):
You know, I would say to not be driven towards the
fear and to question why they'retrying to put fear into you.
That's huge and it creates areal problem, because for some
people, the fears that arecreated are real and they think
that it's naive or foolish toignore them, so to say.
(15:52):
I'm just gonna, you know, puton an old Jim Carrey movie and
laugh instead of being aware ofwhat's going on in the world.
I think, from a mental healthperspective, it's probably a
very good choice, because Ithink that it's.
You know, this is Les's opinion.
(16:14):
Feel free to ignore it.
Feel free to ignore it thatmost of media exists for the
purpose of selling something.
It is the platform foradvertising Advertising
(16:38):
everything from products andservices to politicians and
political parties, to managingpublic opinion on large-scale
issues.
It's important to just acceptright off the top that there is
nothing more motivating thanfear.
So if I want you to spend somemoney, cast a ballot, speak out
(17:06):
against somebody.
I'm going to go out of my way tomake you afraid.
Speaker 2 (17:13):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (17:14):
What happens is that what we're afraid of, we hate
and hatred, is judgment.
So the process is reallyinteresting, because first I
make you afraid and then I getyou to judge, and when I can get
(17:37):
you to judge somethingnegatively, you have no
conscience anymore.
You have no conscience, youhave no limits to what you will
do.
If I can make you afraid ofsomebody on the other side of
the world today, it's all aboutthe Chinese.
If I can make you afraid of theChinese, then I can make you
(18:01):
hate the Chinese, and if I canmake you hate the Chinese, then
I can get you to act againstthem.
And let me, as government orbusiness, act against them Right
, and in other parts of theworld it's the Americans Right,
and in other parts of the worldit's the Americans Right.
(18:24):
If I can get you to fear theAmericans, then I can get you to
hate the Americans, and then Ican get you to agree to
convincing people to buy or todo or to think certain things.
(18:47):
Fear is an enormous tool.
So every time somethingpresents to, you and this would
be fantastic.
Critical thinking, this would beenormous use of critical
thinking To recognize theinstant something triggers in
you a fear.
Then to ask who's sending methis message and what is it that
(19:13):
they're wanting me to do?
To do, say or think something,because those are really the
only options To do, say or thinksomething, because those are
really the only options to do,say or think.
What is it that they're wantingme to do, say or think?
Just stopping the the processright there can allow you to
(19:34):
begin to see through it yeahright there are.
There exist on this planet awhole world of people that want
to control others.
Some come to it from completelyinnocent perspectives, like
mothers and fathers who justwant their kids to be afraid of
(19:58):
certain things so they don't gogetting themselves in trouble
because the parents have suchfear for their kids.
And in many respects, you know,teaching your child not to play
with knives because you can gethurt is a valuable lesson.
Right is a valuable lessonright.
(20:21):
Teaching young children fromdifferent parts of the world to
be afraid of other people fromdifferent parts of the world is
a wholly different thing.
And if we're just aware thatsomebody is benefiting from this
(20:42):
communication because theydon't give stuff away for free
in this world.
So if they're communicatinginformation to you for free,
it's because they want somethingfrom you.
They want you to do, say orthink something.
That level of critical thinkingright there that says I'm not
letting this in, I'm not goingto buy into this, that level of
(21:03):
critical thinking will changethe world.
Speaker 2 (21:06):
Yeah, this goes all the way down to even things that
I've been taught in business,not through college but through
hypnosis.
Business is hit on people'spain points and that really
(21:32):
doesn't.
I don't.
I have a really hard time withthat and maybe that's why I have
a hard time getting.
I do not like bringing uppeople's pain points.
I don't like saying you know,are you having a shit day, like,
are you hurting?
Are you?
You know, think about your hurt?
(21:54):
I and we can help, but it iseverywhere and it is the thing
that's.
That's um sold um in, becauseI've taken um, I've taken those
little master classes that teachyou how to get so many clients
(22:19):
a year and you'll make this muchmoney, and I wind up dropping
out because I can't get on boardwith the pain points or the
cold selling.
Yeah, I'm sure it comes up inmy, in my marketing a little bit
(22:41):
in ways, but I don't.
I can't seem to um spell it outthe way that others do.
Speaker 1 (22:50):
There you go.
That's another important use ofcritical thinking.
This is why we are all going tobenefit if all of us Begin a
process of critical thinkinglearning to think before we
allow information to come in.
Learning to ask questions likesays who?
(23:10):
Who's saying this and why arethey saying it?
You know what's going on.
Now is there's paywalls rightTo get access to information?
Now there's paywalls right,which implies to me a higher
level of credibility.
In my opinion, when I have topay to get access to news right,
(23:32):
it means they're not makingmoney or as much money on the
advertising.
When people are throwinginformation at me, when stuff is
showing up in my feed andpeople are offering me free this
and free that, free masterclassor free, it's just advertising.
It's just advertising.
(23:53):
It's just an attempt to get youto engage in a process that
will end in you buying right.
Everything on your phone thatcomes to you for free is just
clickbait.
It's just trying to get you.
You know it's that old saying.
It's a worthwhile old saying.
I think you know if it's free,then you are the product.
(24:18):
Yeah, if the information orentertainment is free, then you
are the product.
Information or entertainment isfree, then you are the product.
Tiktok makes its money fromadvertising and those
advertisements, you'll notice,start popping up more and more
between the TikToks as youscroll.
How do they get theadvertisement to you, to get you
to not shut off your TikTok?
(24:40):
So as long as I flick to thenext one flick to the next one,
they have the chance toadvertise to me.
And every time an ad shows upin my TikTok feed, somebody pays
TikTok.
It doesn't matter if I watchedit, it doesn't matter if I did
anything with it, it doesn'tmatter if I just tried to flip
(25:02):
right through it.
As soon as it turns up, there'sa cost.
And if I click on thatadvertisement, if it's created
in a way that stimulates my fearor stimulates my greed, I'm
gonna click on it, and then theyget paid even more right.
This is the way it works.
(25:23):
The purpose of getting everybodyto create their tiktoks is, and
why it's so easy for anybody tobecome a tiktok artist, a
content creator, is becausethat's the content that gets you
to sit and watch the ads.
So we'll get the whole worldmaking content for us so that we
(25:44):
can shove ads in there and makemoney and we don't care what
the content is.
We don't care if it's true, wedon't care if it's foolish, we
don't care if it's hurtful, wedon't care as long as it's not
something that somebody's goingto complain about.
We're going to let that contentgo because that helps us sell
(26:05):
advertising Right.
And if we just approach ourphone that way, like this is a
big thing.
This works with a lot of myclients.
If you just approach your phonefrom the idea that if there's
something on my phone that I use, that I use for free, it's
there to sell advertising.
It's using my interests, it'susing my commitment to being
(26:34):
entertained, my desire to beentertained.
It's using all of that to sellme something.
So for a lot of people it's abig, big moment when they say my
phone is using me.
I don't use my phone.
I hold my phone in my hand alot more than I want to.
(26:56):
Most people notice that.
Most people will tell you thatI'm on my phone more than I
should be.
Most people will say that andthat's because the phone is
using them and again this iscritical thinking, this is just
factual right.
Why does TikTok exist?
(27:17):
It exists to make money,otherwise it wouldn't exist.
How does it make money?
It makes money throughadvertising.
How does it make money inadvertising?
It gets people to look at thephone more than they would, more
than they maybe should, morethan they actually want to,
because they don't have apositive alternative in their
(27:39):
life.
Speaker 2 (27:39):
Yeah, this is the value of critical thinking yeah,
no, I think it's very important.
The more we talk about this,the more I start thinking, oh
yeah, that's an example.
That's an example.
I guess I just never reallyattached those words critical
thinking, to those things, so Ijust thought it was just
(28:01):
something I did, right.
Speaker 1 (28:02):
Why am I being told this?
And if it's trying to stimulatemy base instincts, my base
emotions, it's using me, yeah,yeah.
Speaker 2 (28:17):
Yeah, yeah, that was really interesting.
Interesting, I like the phonetalk.
Maybe we should next time talkabout phone addictions.
Speaker 1 (28:33):
Well, it's really, it's really part of critical
thinking.
I'll try to put that website inthe notes so people can see that
there are lots of resources outthere to help you recognize in
yourself the way you think, thelogic that you have, the
assumptions that you make, andreally you know that's what we
(28:55):
do in hypnosis.
What we do in hypnosis is helpyou find the errors in your
subconscious mind's thinking,that interpretation and meaning
of things that isn't true, thatcauses negative emotions, um
yeah.
So hey, you know what?
I don't have to have an opinionon everything and I don't have
(29:15):
to be engaged in everydiscussion.
Just because it matters a lotto you doesn't mean it has to
matter a lot to me, and I don'thave to engage in fear.
I don't need to be afraid ofeverything.
I can use my own mind todetermine what's really a danger
to me and what isn't a dangerto me.
Speaker 2 (29:34):
Yeah, All right, good talk, we'll see you later.
We hope you enjoyed today'spodcast and that maybe it helped
even a little.
If you have any questions, wewould love you to send them
along in an email to info atpsalmhypnosiscom.
(29:56):
Thank you for being part of theState of Mind community.
For more information abouthypnosis and the various online
or in-person services we provide, please visit our website,
wwwpsalmhypnosiscom.
The link will be in the notesbelow.
While you are there, why don'tyou book a free one-hour journey
, meeting with Hillary or less,to learn more about what
(30:18):
hypnosis is and how you mightuse it to make your life what
you want it to be?
Bye for now.
Talk to you tomorrow.
Welcome and thank you for joining us for Coffee with
Hilary and Les.
Brought to you by the State ofMind Hypnosis and Training
Centre located in the heart ofthe Kawartha Lakes.
This is our almost dailycommunity podcast about the mind
and how we all might change itin the most simple and helpful
(00:30):
ways.
Every day we sit staring at thelake and sipping our coffee,
chatting about hypnosis and howto make those meaningful
adjustments to our state of mind, because nothing's more
important than your state ofmind, because nothing's more
important than your state ofmind already already.
Speaker 2 (00:54):
My eyes are still up shot.
We're thinking more aboutcritical thinking.
Speaker 1 (01:03):
Critical thinking.
Hillary has a mental block.
Speaker 2 (01:11):
I don't want to think about critical thinking.
Yeah, I do.
I'm making faces now, adam.
I like I think I've neverreally thought about critical
(01:37):
thinking before, so this is verynew to me in lots of ways.
Oh, my god, you know I'm notnaive for the most part and you
(02:05):
know I look for the truth orwhat seems to be the truth at
the time.
But yeah, I learned little bitsof critical thinking over the
years in school and universityand college and stuff.
So you know I have my favoritebiases and fallacies and all the
stuff on these papers that I'mshaking around.
(02:26):
Just hang on.
Speaker 1 (02:29):
There's some really great websites on this stuff and
, of course, there's some reallygreat books too.
But there was a group of guyswho I'll try to make sure it
goes into the notes they createdthey're very committed to
critical thinking.
Sometimes when I read theirstuff, I think that they're not
(02:50):
using their critical thinking,but the point is is that they're
very committed to criticalthinking and helping people get
past just flaws in logic andmostly their biases.
We have we all have biasesthings that we trust more than
(03:10):
other things, and and thatthat's that's.
Those sheets that you'relooking at are just some simple
summaries that they created inthere.
They've done pretty well and Ithink that they're valuable.
If somebody wanted to spend sometime and say you know, am I
using my mind for my own highest, best purpose?
(03:32):
Am I?
You know?
I think there's.
There's times when we trickourselves and you know those
times are more frequent than wethink there.
There are times when we trickourselves into doing and saying
and and pursuing things thataren't necessarily helpful to us
, and I think that you know themind is this, this, this big,
(03:59):
broad thing that has infinitepotential, and it's really about
how we use it that determineswhat we get out of it, and it
has the potential to make you sopowerful and effective and
happy and loving and caring, andit also has the capacity to
(04:23):
drive you down into the darkness.
You know, I have an old friendwho says you're going to ground
right, You're going way down andyou're not flying and soaring
anymore.
It has the capacity to trick usinto thinking things that
aren't true.
It has the ability to get usangry and resentful and
(04:44):
frustrated, and and dwelling inemotions that are really
unpleasant, and it's all goingon inside us, right?
it's all going on inside ourmind.
So it's just another tool,another, another bunch of things
(05:04):
to think about, to try tomaximize your own happiness and
your own sense of peace withwhat's going on around you.
It really can affect how youinterpret what's going on around
you and it's the meaning ofwhat's going on around me, and
it's the meaning of what's goingon around me that determines
(05:27):
how I feel about it, how myemotions are, and emotions are
the things that we probablycomplain about the most feeling
down and feeling scared andfeeling anxious and and not
feeling safe and not feelingappreciated and not feeling
loved.
(05:48):
Right, so there are ways to useyour thinking capacity to help
you to feel better, and that'swhy I like the topic of critical
thinking.
Speaker 2 (06:02):
But you don't like it so much you can be honest, it's
okay well, like you asked mebefore we started the podcast
today, I was.
I guess I came to the table,like I said the other day,
(06:26):
thinking that critical thinkingwas like in my life.
It was used as like what'swrong with you, like don't live
in a bubble, like do yourresearch.
I feel like to be a criticalthinker.
I'd have to be researching bothsides of everything all day and
(06:51):
, yeah, I feel smart enough thatI can make up my own opinions
now based on what I see aroundme.
I mean, we all get sucked intomedia land and get drawn along
(07:14):
and a lot of the time they wantthat right.
Speaker 1 (07:18):
That's what we're trying to do Mm-hmm.
Speaker 2 (07:22):
But you know, when I hear, like what we said the
other day, cats and dogs beingeaten, I don't, uh, I don't go
down that rabbit hole andbelieve it to be true.
Speaker 1 (07:40):
Um, so, um, so, yeah, well, I think so, so let's use
this as the first reframe of theday, One of the things that,
like I think you hit the nail onthe head when you said I feel
like I could be researching allday long so that I could be sure
that my opinion is valid.
Speaker 2 (08:00):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (08:01):
But you would only do that because you've made an
assumption that you should havean opinion on it.
Yeah, but you would only dothat because you've made an
assumption that you should havean opinion on it.
Speaker 2 (08:08):
Yeah, so I mean it all comes down to?
Does this all even matter?
There you go.
So I really need an opinion oneverything.
Speaker 1 (08:17):
That's it.
So there's your first reframe.
I don't need to have an opinionon everything.
I don't need to have an opinionon everything.
I don't need to have an opinionon everything.
I am free not to have anopinion on lots of things, right
?
First of all, opinions arereally sometimes pointless
things because, by their verydefinition, what they mean is I
(08:38):
don't know.
But this is the conclusion I'vecome to based on the limited
information I have.
And and you're right, if I wanteven that opinion to be
meaningful, I've got to go anddo all kinds of research.
And I've got to research bothsides.
If I really want to understand,I have to listen to both sides.
And the first question is do Icare?
(08:59):
I don't live in Springfield,I'm not concerned about the US's
immigration policy.
I don't need to have an opinionon that.
So I'm not going to explore totry to figure out if it's true.
But one thing I'm not going todo I'm not going to take
somebody else's opinion and makeit my own.
(09:21):
I'm not going to just adoptsomebody else who's talking,
talking, talking and wants togenerate.
I know they want.
You know, in the US they're sofocused on and it's happening in
Canada now too.
I can't say the US, I thinkit's everywhere now in politics
they're focused more on tryingto hate the other side than they
(09:42):
are on trying to convince youthat they know what they're
going to do.
And they don't.
They don't know what they'regoing to do, they don't know
what's going to happen.
They don't know what theirpolicies are going to be.
They don't want you to vote forthem because oh, look at my
really great policy.
They want you to vote for thembecause you hate the other side.
So it's easier to generatehatred for people, clickbait
(10:04):
hatred.
This is the stuff that'sdriving our information world
right, and so if I can look atthat and say there's nothing,
I'm gonna read today.
That's going to be completelytrue there's nothing and no one
today that I can completelytrust.
so what I have to do is not bebaited into everything.
(10:27):
I have to pick what I careabout.
I have to decide that I don'tneed an opinion on everything.
I'm quite happy to say I don'thave an opinion on that and I'm
not really concerned with thatand I don't see how it relates
to my life today.
I don't see how it's somethingI need to engage in today, right
(10:54):
now.
Sorry, if I really need toembrace this idea, I'll go do my
research and I'll try to befair in my research.
So really, what criticalthinking I think starts with is
knowing the difference betweenfacts and opinions, knowing that
an opinion is just somebody'stemporary conclusion based on a
(11:16):
limited set of facts.
Conclusion based on a limitedset of facts that they're
probably voicing their opinionto me because they want to
influence what I think.
I don't have to let that in.
I don't have to have an opinionon this.
I don't have to know all aboutwhat's going on in Springfield.
I don't.
I can just say, oh well, I cansee why other people are
(11:39):
concerned with that.
I'm not going to be today.
So I think the first part ofcritical thinking is just
pulling up that block that saysI don't have to have an opinion
on this.
I know that opinions are notmeaningful things unless you're
fighting, unless you're fighting, and if you want to be fully
engaged in a fight, then I guessyou better do your research and
(12:02):
you better have really qualityopinions.
Um, but you don't have to befighting.
Speaker 2 (12:09):
Yeah, yeah, you don't have to be.
Speaker 1 (12:12):
You can smile and not .
You can giggle at the funnystuff that comes up on Tik TOK.
You can.
You can pass over the sillymemes that come up in your feed.
You can notice how ai isshaping your clickbait to get
you to click, to get you to staythere, right?
(12:34):
I think what makes criticalthinking so hard today is that,
without really realizing it,we're just consuming so much.
Let's just call it allinformation.
Let's just call it allinformation.
The stuff that's true, thestuff that's false, the stuff
that's hilarious, the stuffthat's infuriating.
(12:56):
It's just all information.
It's information.
Can't's just all information.
It's information.
Can't know whether or not it'strue, can't know whether or not
it's real.
You know, can't even look at avideo and be sure that that's
actually that person doing thatthing anymore, right, you just
can't know.
So it becomes more of a.
How do I deal with all thisinformation?
(13:18):
Yeah, well, you know, I getdrawn into it because I like
having my phone in my hand andwhenever there's nothing else to
do, I seem to turn to my phoneand there's another piece of
yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (13:40):
I feel like when we look out into the media right
now, when we look out into theworld, that I'm always sort of
(14:02):
going to come back to and I trymy best.
I'm not always good at it, butI try to come back to the idea
of when you're looking at likeyou talk about clickbait stuff,
we talk about the media,anything that is out there, and
(14:25):
we're looking at it and it andit causes fear, I always I try
to critically think if I want togive it that word, those words
about that stuff, right, whywould they want to be generating
fear in me?
Um, and so that's for mesomething that stands out, that
(14:51):
I go okay, no, I don't even wantto engage in that.
Um.
So I tell my clients, I tellpeople on podcasts, on YouTube
and stuff, like, don't try yourbest not to go towards the fear.
Love, stay in the peace, stayin the even if the comedy brings
(15:31):
peace to you.
Speaker 1 (15:31):
You know, I would say to not be driven towards the
fear and to question why they'retrying to put fear into you.
That's huge and it creates areal problem, because for some
people, the fears that arecreated are real and they think
that it's naive or foolish toignore them, so to say.
(15:52):
I'm just gonna, you know, puton an old Jim Carrey movie and
laugh instead of being aware ofwhat's going on in the world.
I think, from a mental healthperspective, it's probably a
very good choice, because Ithink that it's.
You know, this is Les's opinion.
(16:14):
Feel free to ignore it.
Feel free to ignore it thatmost of media exists for the
purpose of selling something.
It is the platform foradvertising Advertising
(16:38):
everything from products andservices to politicians and
political parties, to managingpublic opinion on large-scale
issues.
It's important to just acceptright off the top that there is
nothing more motivating thanfear.
So if I want you to spend somemoney, cast a ballot, speak out
(17:06):
against somebody.
I'm going to go out of my way tomake you afraid.
Speaker 2 (17:13):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (17:14):
What happens is that what we're afraid of, we hate
and hatred, is judgment.
So the process is reallyinteresting, because first I
make you afraid and then I getyou to judge, and when I can get
(17:37):
you to judge somethingnegatively, you have no
conscience anymore.
You have no conscience, youhave no limits to what you will
do.
If I can make you afraid ofsomebody on the other side of
the world today, it's all aboutthe Chinese.
If I can make you afraid of theChinese, then I can make you
(18:01):
hate the Chinese, and if I canmake you hate the Chinese, then
I can get you to act againstthem.
And let me, as government orbusiness, act against them Right
, and in other parts of theworld it's the Americans Right,
and in other parts of the worldit's the Americans Right.
(18:24):
If I can get you to fear theAmericans, then I can get you to
hate the Americans, and then Ican get you to agree to
convincing people to buy or todo or to think certain things.
(18:47):
Fear is an enormous tool.
So every time somethingpresents to, you and this would
be fantastic.
Critical thinking, this would beenormous use of critical
thinking To recognize theinstant something triggers in
you a fear.
Then to ask who's sending methis message and what is it that
(19:13):
they're wanting me to do?
To do, say or think something,because those are really the
only options To do, say or thinksomething, because those are
really the only options to do,say or think.
What is it that they're wantingme to do, say or think?
Just stopping the the processright there can allow you to
(19:34):
begin to see through it yeahright there are.
There exist on this planet awhole world of people that want
to control others.
Some come to it from completelyinnocent perspectives, like
mothers and fathers who justwant their kids to be afraid of
(19:58):
certain things so they don't gogetting themselves in trouble
because the parents have suchfear for their kids.
And in many respects, you know,teaching your child not to play
with knives because you can gethurt is a valuable lesson.
Right is a valuable lessonright.
(20:21):
Teaching young children fromdifferent parts of the world to
be afraid of other people fromdifferent parts of the world is
a wholly different thing.
And if we're just aware thatsomebody is benefiting from this
(20:42):
communication because theydon't give stuff away for free
in this world.
So if they're communicatinginformation to you for free,
it's because they want somethingfrom you.
They want you to do, say orthink something.
That level of critical thinkingright there that says I'm not
letting this in, I'm not goingto buy into this, that level of
(21:03):
critical thinking will changethe world.
Speaker 2 (21:06):
Yeah, this goes all the way down to even things that
I've been taught in business,not through college but through
hypnosis.
Business is hit on people'spain points and that really
(21:32):
doesn't.
I don't.
I have a really hard time withthat and maybe that's why I have
a hard time getting.
I do not like bringing uppeople's pain points.
I don't like saying you know,are you having a shit day, like,
are you hurting?
Are you?
You know, think about your hurt?
(21:54):
I and we can help, but it iseverywhere and it is the thing
that's.
That's um sold um in, becauseI've taken um, I've taken those
little master classes that teachyou how to get so many clients
(22:19):
a year and you'll make this muchmoney, and I wind up dropping
out because I can't get on boardwith the pain points or the
cold selling.
Yeah, I'm sure it comes up inmy, in my marketing a little bit
(22:41):
in ways, but I don't.
I can't seem to um spell it outthe way that others do.
Speaker 1 (22:50):
There you go.
That's another important use ofcritical thinking.
This is why we are all going tobenefit if all of us Begin a
process of critical thinkinglearning to think before we
allow information to come in.
Learning to ask questions likesays who?
(23:10):
Who's saying this and why arethey saying it?
You know what's going on.
Now is there's paywalls rightTo get access to information?
Now there's paywalls right,which implies to me a higher
level of credibility.
In my opinion, when I have topay to get access to news right,
(23:32):
it means they're not makingmoney or as much money on the
advertising.
When people are throwinginformation at me, when stuff is
showing up in my feed andpeople are offering me free this
and free that, free masterclassor free, it's just advertising.
It's just advertising.
(23:53):
It's just an attempt to get youto engage in a process that
will end in you buying right.
Everything on your phone thatcomes to you for free is just
clickbait.
It's just trying to get you.
You know it's that old saying.
It's a worthwhile old saying.
I think you know if it's free,then you are the product.
(24:18):
Yeah, if the information orentertainment is free, then you
are the product.
Information or entertainment isfree, then you are the product.
Tiktok makes its money fromadvertising and those
advertisements, you'll notice,start popping up more and more
between the TikToks as youscroll.
How do they get theadvertisement to you, to get you
to not shut off your TikTok?
(24:40):
So as long as I flick to thenext one flick to the next one,
they have the chance toadvertise to me.
And every time an ad shows upin my TikTok feed, somebody pays
TikTok.
It doesn't matter if I watchedit, it doesn't matter if I did
anything with it, it doesn'tmatter if I just tried to flip
(25:02):
right through it.
As soon as it turns up, there'sa cost.
And if I click on thatadvertisement, if it's created
in a way that stimulates my fearor stimulates my greed, I'm
gonna click on it, and then theyget paid even more right.
This is the way it works.
(25:23):
The purpose of getting everybodyto create their tiktoks is, and
why it's so easy for anybody tobecome a tiktok artist, a
content creator, is becausethat's the content that gets you
to sit and watch the ads.
So we'll get the whole worldmaking content for us so that we
(25:44):
can shove ads in there and makemoney and we don't care what
the content is.
We don't care if it's true, wedon't care if it's foolish, we
don't care if it's hurtful, wedon't care as long as it's not
something that somebody's goingto complain about.
We're going to let that contentgo because that helps us sell
(26:05):
advertising Right.
And if we just approach ourphone that way, like this is a
big thing.
This works with a lot of myclients.
If you just approach your phonefrom the idea that if there's
something on my phone that I use, that I use for free, it's
there to sell advertising.
It's using my interests, it'susing my commitment to being
(26:34):
entertained, my desire to beentertained.
It's using all of that to sellme something.
So for a lot of people it's abig, big moment when they say my
phone is using me.
I don't use my phone.
I hold my phone in my hand alot more than I want to.
(26:56):
Most people notice that.
Most people will tell you thatI'm on my phone more than I
should be.
Most people will say that andthat's because the phone is
using them and again this iscritical thinking, this is just
factual right.
Why does TikTok exist?
(27:17):
It exists to make money,otherwise it wouldn't exist.
How does it make money?
It makes money throughadvertising.
How does it make money inadvertising?
It gets people to look at thephone more than they would, more
than they maybe should, morethan they actually want to,
because they don't have apositive alternative in their
(27:39):
life.
Speaker 2 (27:39):
Yeah, this is the value of critical thinking yeah,
no, I think it's very important.
The more we talk about this,the more I start thinking, oh
yeah, that's an example.
That's an example.
I guess I just never reallyattached those words critical
thinking, to those things, so Ijust thought it was just
(28:01):
something I did, right.
Speaker 1 (28:02):
Why am I being told this?
And if it's trying to stimulatemy base instincts, my base
emotions, it's using me, yeah,yeah.
Speaker 2 (28:17):
Yeah, yeah, that was really interesting.
Interesting, I like the phonetalk.
Maybe we should next time talkabout phone addictions.
Speaker 1 (28:33):
Well, it's really, it's really part of critical
thinking.
I'll try to put that website inthe notes so people can see that
there are lots of resources outthere to help you recognize in
yourself the way you think, thelogic that you have, the
assumptions that you make, andreally you know that's what we
(28:55):
do in hypnosis.
What we do in hypnosis is helpyou find the errors in your
subconscious mind's thinking,that interpretation and meaning
of things that isn't true, thatcauses negative emotions, um
yeah.
So hey, you know what?
I don't have to have an opinionon everything and I don't have
(29:15):
to be engaged in everydiscussion.
Just because it matters a lotto you doesn't mean it has to
matter a lot to me, and I don'thave to engage in fear.
I don't need to be afraid ofeverything.
I can use my own mind todetermine what's really a danger
to me and what isn't a dangerto me.
Speaker 2 (29:34):
Yeah, All right, good talk, we'll see you later.
We hope you enjoyed today'spodcast and that maybe it helped
even a little.
If you have any questions, wewould love you to send them
along in an email to info atpsalmhypnosiscom.
(29:56):
Thank you for being part of theState of Mind community.
For more information abouthypnosis and the various online
or in-person services we provide, please visit our website,
wwwpsalmhypnosiscom.
The link will be in the notesbelow.
While you are there, why don'tyou book a free one-hour journey
, meeting with Hillary or less,to learn more about what
(30:18):
hypnosis is and how you mightuse it to make your life what
you want it to be?
Bye for now.
Talk to you tomorrow.
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