How Your Mind Can Keep You Well [Paperback]

Roy Masters (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 1978 | ISBN-10: 0933900090 | ISBN-13: 978-0933900097 | Edition: 15th

Why are people unhappy? What makes people tick? Where do our thoughts and feelings come from? How can we find real happiness?

In this explosive and revolutionary work, Roy Masters introduces possibly the most advanced psychological system known to man - Freud and the whole of modern psychology included.

This introductory work explores the root cause of our unhappiness and suffering - living from our false self - and explains the cure: self-knowledge, brought about by a simple exercise of objective awareness which restores our true identity.

Every human being is searching for the same thing: real happiness. Yet as Thoreau observed, "the mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation." While we all anxiously search for this elusive state of happiness, the reality is that most of us are continually haunted by fear, doubt, confusion, anxiety, guilt, tension, and suffering through our entire lives.

But occasionally, we glimpse that there might be something higher - a more real state of living, of true fulfillment.

But how can we find it? How can we avoid a life of quiet desperation?

In the modern world flooded with multitudes of therapies, gurus, drugs, medicines, and trendy psychological techniques, this simple but powerful system has for decades been helping hundreds of thousands of people find the happiness and confidence they had been searching for all of their lives.

Discover the system and philosophy that has helped millions overcome drugs, alcoholism, and other various addictions, heal childhood and sexual traumas, solve relationship and marital difficulties, and answer personal problems of every kind.

This book may hold the answer you have been looking for.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

To millions of people, Roy Masters is a daily voice of sanity and conscience.

Born April 2, 1928, by the age of four, young Roy was already aware of the plight of human existence. "I remember looking down upon the street from the window of our apartment, and watching the people walking back and forth from their homes to their work," he recalls. I clearly remember the expressions of unhappiness on their faces and thinking to myself, 'There must be more to life than this.'"

Masters' father died of a heart attack when Roy was fifteen. In 1948, Roy left England for South Africa, where he worked as a diamond cutter for a little over a year. At age 24, Masters married his wife, Ann, and eventually settled down in Houston, Texas, where he established the Institute of Hypnosis. In 1961, Roy had become aware, as a result of his work with hypnosis, that the reason why he was so successsful with his patients was that he was actually DE-hypnotizing them. Needless to say, he was eager to share his discovery with as large an audience as possible.

In 1963, Roy formed the Foundation of Human Understanding a non-profit organization dedicated to helping people resolve their problems using the knowledge Roy had discovered. Soon, he decided to buy a small amount of air time and go on the radio. The program was a success from the very beginning.

Today, Roy continues to spread his message not only to his five children and (at last count) eleven grandchildren, but to millions who listen to his radio show every day. The Foundation has achieved modest success by worldly standards. But for the thousands whose lives have been changed through their contact with the Foundation, however, the organization has achieved the greatest success possible.

Product Details

• Paperback: 201 pages
• Publisher: Foundation of Human Understanding; 15th edition (June 1, 1978)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0933900090
• ISBN-13: 978-0933900097
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #535,340 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The highest caliber psychology anywhere, period., September 23, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: How Your Mind Can Keep You Well (Paperback)

I have degrees in Psychology and Philosophy from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and have studied mainstream religious thought, psychological works of Freud, Jung, Maslow, Adler, Skinner, Rogers, etc, and many non-mainstream thinkers and self-help systems such as NLP, Robbins, Reich, Chopra, Gurdjieff, etc. For over ten years I have been conducting a professional and personal research investigation into the fields of psychology, philosophy, self-help fields and so on.

It is my opinion that Roy Masters is one of the greatest psychologists alive today, and ranks with the greatest thinkers on the nature of man who have ever existed. I have found that his books, tapes, and radio program contain some of the most practical and effective information available anywhere, and I strongly urge anyone who yearns for deeper meaning and happiness to listen to what he has to say.

This may sound overly dramatic or full of exaggeration. Yet, for better or worse the modern world is saturated with a flood of self-help gurus, psychological theories, life-improvement systems, methods of enlightenment and so forth, which can be extremely confusing to say the least, overwhelming, disillusioning and dangerous at worst.

Finding Roy Masters was a huge, incredible sigh of relief. Finally - a scientific, practical, and common-sense message that stands out like a beacon of light, with clear and obvious sanity in a confusing world.

I began studying his books and tapes over about eighteen months ago, and have been practicing his meditation exercise for almost as long. Since that time my own life has been transformed. And I am not the only one by far - hundreds of thousands, some of whom I have met personally, have been helped by this message, the teaching, and simple method - heroin addicts who have been cured, alcoholics who have become dry, survivors of severe childhood traumas who have become healthy again, all the way to people who for some unknown reason just feel vaguely unsatisfied with their lives.

Having explored more teachers and systems than I would like to admit, I know for a fact that this system "works," that the results are real, and the changes are permanent. I know many teachers get endorsements, but I have thoroughly investigated many of these teachers and moved on.

At the same time, Mr. Masters is one of the most misunderstood thinkers on the planet - and in all fairness, the message is easily misunderstood. He is a thinker, not a writer, and his books tend to be rambling, stream-of-consciousness, and a lot to swallow. His speaking style (from his audio tapes and radio shows), while extremely eloquent and articulate, pulls no punches - he speaks plainly and really "tells it like it is." So of course, many are offended by his message - he has been called everything from a "woman-hater" to a "racist" to a "Bible-thumper," all of which, I know, are simply not true. He gives no respect to sacred cows, and sacred cows are numerous.

I do not have space here to explain Mr. Masters' system to any degree of justice, but here is a thumbnail sketch:

Normal Freudian/psychoanalytic and modern psychological systems are designed to "cure" people of mental afflictions; it takes people who are "sick" and makes them "normal" again.

The system of Masters does this, but also more: it does not stop with the goal of "normal," or ordinary psychological health - it aims higher, to a state of clear, objective awareness, (dare I say "self-actualization"?) a state of being which is free of anxiety, guilt, fear, confusion, tension, and so forth. This is no "mystical" state of consciousness in the ordinary sense, but more a state of deep confidence, honest joy and love, and clear common sense. It is nothing far removed or exotic - this is our natural state - the state that children have until their parents and societal influences drum it out of them.

So, how is this state "attained?" Well, if you were to pursue psychoanalysis, teachings of Jung and the individuation process, or even traditional therapy, it would cost hundreds and thousands of dollars to see a therapist, which depending on the therapist (and the client), may or may not be effective.

The system of Masters is one of self-knowledge. The "technique" he recommends requires a total investment of a few minutes a day and around twenty dollars. That's all. No other person - Masters himself or any kind of doctor or psychologist - needs to get involved or provide additional instruction - but if elaboration is desired, he is personally available through his talk-radio program for FREE (what other psychologist that you know will do this?) or through additional tapes and books.

I would recommend starting with "How Your Mind Can Keep You Well," and the accompanying tape "The Classic," which outlines the basics of his system. These are really all you need to know. His additional books go into more detail still: "How To Conquer Negative motions" and "Understanding Sexuality" are more in-depth aspects of his teaching; there is also "The Hypnosis Of Life"for coping with everyday stress and pressure; "Eat No Evil" foreating disorders, their causes and cure; "The Adam and Eve Sindrome" for probably the most incisive exposition of the male/female relationship I have ever read; "How To Conquer Suffering Without Doctors" for emotional roots of physical illnesses - and several other books as well.

Again, if you really want to get his message, don't get put off by the writing style or dismiss him as a ranting moralist, traditional preacher, etc. It will take some open-mindedness and a sincere desire to understand in order to hear what he is saying. His teachings are wholly original and self-generated; although it is rooted in spiritual traditions they are unlike any other body of thought I have come across at all. Which is strange to say, because in retrospect it all seems like common sense.

12 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must have, December 24, 2002

By 

JL (NL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: How Your Mind Can Keep You Well (Paperback)

I have read this book, and I came to the conclusion that this is not an easy book to read. It IS, however, one of the deepest books I have come across. Masters goes much, much further than psychology does, because he also discusses the spiritual aspect of human beings. I have read some of the other reviews on this site, and I could not help noticing that the review that were most negative did not present any argument against Masters' message, they only resort to name-calling (really...) or stating that the book is hard to read. I quite agree with the latter comment, but if you are willing to put some effort in it, don't try to read the book at once, read one chapter or a couple of pages at a time and think about it, you will discover that the effort yields a great reward, it is like digging for a treasure hidden very deep into the ground. Masters is a very original and intelligent thinker, I have listened to some of his radio programs and I must say that he is an absolute delight to listen to.
If you have many questions about life and if you want to find out the answer to many whys, check out this book. If I could I would give it a six star rating.

12 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is a good wake-up call, if we're ready for it, July 29, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: How Your Mind Can Keep You Well (Paperback)

I've listened to Roy on radio, and read a few of his books. This book is simply trying to reach into our psyches and give us the news flash: what we think, see, and believe about this world may not be true. There is a special way of becoming receptive and responsive to our spiritual nature, and that can come about via meditation and contemplation. Our minds can keep us well, if we can overcome all the chitter-chatter that's continually going on inside of those minds. This book explains the way to disconnect from mindless blather, and reconnect to the Creative Spirit within us all. And to those who believe that Roy is attempting to brainwash and hypnotize them, that's untrue. He continually states that his goal is simply to awaken our sleeping spirits to the Truth which will set us free. Once we're awakened, he wants nothing more to do with us. We're on our own. I think that's his primary goal in this world - to set people free from their conditioning, their false beliefs, and their childhood traumas.