Observe Oneself More and More Closely

Leave a reply

Welcome to this week’s Pebbles in the Pond Blog, written by Bill Harvey
October 16, 2026

Click here for an update about Pebbles.

MIND MAGIC / MIND EXPERIMENTS the 50th Anniversary Edition Excerpt Series: Part 11

For each manifestation, we ask ourselves why we did it, tracing the causes as far back as we can. Then we decide whether we want to give rise to such a manifestation again in light of our goals. If we do not wish to, we resolve not to.

Given our past experience with self-control, it’s useful to predict how successful we are likely to be in suppressing such manifestations. Thus, we set realistic goals for reducing unwanted manifestations gradually, rather than resolving to do the impossible all at once, which would only lead to discouragement and weakened self-belief.

If we always resolve to do something we believe we can do, even though it is only a little better than we have done in the past, we will gradually build self-belief, allowing us to confidently raise our sights a little more each time.

The effect of this process is to telescope the delay between action and thought so that at first we will find ourselves realizing soon after an inappropriate action that it was inappropriate and why. Then we will recognize these things instantly after the action; then we will catch ourselves in mid-action; and then we will catch ourselves before action. (Actually, these four types of experiences will always continue to occur, but the latter types will become more frequent and the former less frequent.)

Some of the programs we will decide to remove are programs we once consciously established, and which were useful to us at the time, but which have long since become counterproductive based on changing circumstances and our own increased capabilities.

It is an inherent characteristic of any developing system that heroes emerge and are heroes only within the context that stimulated their creation; as these heroes overcome and change such contexts, the heroes themselves become the context to be changed. Thus, both coping systems and governments begin as useful and gradually become counterproductive. This is the nature of the evolutionary process itself.

However, any system tends to be self-perpetuating: programs may be visualized as power centers in our heads, trying to survive despite their vestigiality. Thus, they will get some senators to speak in their favor, and in honoring them for their past service, we will hesitate to remove them. (Senators = mini-personalities that have been implanted in us by the internalized influence of others… at least two from Mom (her Mom and Dad); at least two from Dad (his Mom and Dad); etc. Each senator is a “parasite circuit” capable of “taking over our minds” by making us think its suggestions are ours.)

Mind Experiments

Revisit the Mind Experiments from Part 10

1. Identify your senators.

Pick a day, and on that day, listen to the conversations in your head and see if you can pick out the separate voices, e.g., the one that says, “You’re getting ripped off by” whomever you’re with, the one who’s always putting you down, etc.

Who are they?

2. De-energizing parental parasite circuits

Make a list of your father’s and your mother’s priorities. Then, side-by-side, list your own. By comparing yours to theirs, detect which of your priorities aren’t really your priorities but do influence your actions just as if they were, because of the hypnotic conditioning of your robot by long association with their robots at a time when you were maximally impressionable/imprintable.

Note: You might use a format like this; draw arrows wherever you see connections.

3. De-energizing parental-dynamic parasite circuits

How did your parents play together? What were some of their acts—make a list.

Then, for each act, see occasions you have played out each one’s role in your own life.

Love to all,
THEI Team

Please note: The Pebbles in the Pond blog written before Bill Harvey passed will continue to be posted here. However, the email notifications you have been receiving in your inbox will now come from a new email address: billharveyblog@humaneffectivenessinstitute.org . You may have to set this to be recognized as “not spam” so it appears in your primary or main email. We send these out every Friday morning.
In case you missed the last 2 posts, here is the link to last week’s blog, Edit Your Head Files. Here is the link to the post from two weeks ago, Celebrating Bill Harvey.

Edit Your Head Files

Leave a reply

Welcome to this week’s Pebbles Blog written by Bill Harvey
October 9, 2026

MIND MAGIC / MIND EXPERIMENTS the 50th Anniversary Edition Excerpt Series: Part 10

The first step is to become aware of our programming...

We have all been programmed. Every experience we have ever had and every communication we have ever received has implanted in us a predisposition to act and think in certain ways.

There are currently a large number of programs operating in our heads, most of which we are no longer aware of or were never aware of.

These programs interact to determine precisely how we will behave in a specific set of circumstances. To the extent that we allow this to continue, our behavior will be predictable based on knowledge of our programming. Thus, we will be mechanical slaves, our lives the mathematical result of all our programming inputs.

It is possible, however, to gradually become aware of all our programming; to select which programming to keep, which to modify, and which to remove; and to act with conscious awareness of our relevant programming so that we can either ratify or override it in any given set of circumstances. When these things are done, we are no longer mechanical slaves to our programming and can choose when to use each of our specific programs.

The first step is to become aware of our programming:
this requires close observation.

We must observe ourselves as if we are observing another person we have never known before. Every word, every tone of voice, every minute gesture, every action, and every thought must be scrutinized from the standpoint of:

  • Why was that done?
  • What are the roots of such behavior?
  • What is the motivation?
  • When might it have been implanted and by whom or what?

We will find that the bulk of our actions serve petty ends of which we cannot consciously approve. For example, we will find that most of our words, gestures, and postures can only be explained as role-playing mimicry designed to make us feel approved of. We will find that even when we can do without outside approval, we still seek inside approval from other people whose viewpoints we have stored inside our heads.

When we have stripped away all such programming, we will no longer be addicted to the support of others: we will take what we consider the best action we know how to take at any given moment, assess the results of that action, and revise plans accordingly. We will see status in society as a form of scrip slaves/workers are permitted to give themselves in return for obedience. (Scrip = ersatz money as given by the “company” for use in the “company store”.)

Mind Experiments

Let’s revisit the Mind Experiments from Part 9

1. Watch action patterns.

  • Pick a day. On that day, from the moment you awaken, stay alert all day and watch your actions down to the smallest gesture.
  • When you seem to be observing an action pattern that appears significant to some part of your mind, ask yourself: “Why did I do that?” (Or, “Why am I doing this?”)

2. “Autopilot addictions” meditation

  • What were your mother and father “addicted” to (attached to getting or avoiding)?
  • How about your peers at school and others known to have influenced you: to what were they “addicted”?
  • To what extent do you now automatically mirror any of these addictions?

3. Meditate on the extent to which you “need” approval.

  • Whom do you “need” approval from? Why?
  • Clue: What do you work hardest at? Who would approve of you the most for working so hard at it?

Let’s add one more:

4. Develop absolute willpower.

Absolute willpower means that when you make a vow, you know you will keep it.

What stands between most of us and absolute willpower is the knowledge that we have habitually broken our vows and don’t know how to break that habit. In other words, we don’t believe ourselves when we make vows, so we don’t feel truly bound to keep them.

The way to break the habit is to start making vows to ourselves that we know we will keep, and then allow time to pass during which we always keep these vows.

Example:
The next time you catch yourself in an “unwanted manifestation” you know you can give up, vow (decide) to give it up. Make as many of these as you like, but don’t try to give up something you’re not sure you can give up until your body has observed you keeping the “easy” vows in three-dimensional reality.

Once your “lower” (cybernetically less sophisticated) parts have observed you keeping your “easy” vows, it will become much easier for you to make and keep “not-so-easy” vows, and eventually “hard” ones as well.

Love to all,
THEI Team

Celebrating Bill Harvey,
a man whose life’s work touched so many

Leave a reply

Bill Harvey
March 1942—September 2026

Today, we, the THEI team, are writing to let you know that Bill Harvey, gifted writer and speaker, innovative researcher, creative inventor, and our beloved friend, has passed.

We will miss his physical presence immensely, and yet he will live on through his work. Bill’s wish was for us to carry on the mission of The Human Effectiveness Institute by making his writings available to all. Bill created a large body of work—some not yet published—which he intended to share with you.  We look forward to making that happen by posting some of Bill’s “new” writings here on Pebbles and, when possible, making them available as printed and/or eBooks.

Bill Harvey loved life. He loved everything he did and always looked for ways to serve and uplift humanity. He radiated joy and enthusiasm for all aspects of life, and he wanted everyone to experience that same joie de vivre.  This led him to establish The Human Effectiveness Institute in 1976. And even at the very end of his life, 50 years later, he remained enthusiastic about discovering what would come next.

Also in 1976, he wrote his first book, Mind Magic, which reflected his desire to help people experience life from a higher viewpoint. Universities, colleges, and even the US military have used Mind Magic as a course text to train people to use their minds more effectively.

Bill was a writer at heart. He loved to write and made time to do so daily.  He wrote more than 10 books, some of which have received awards. He wrote nonfiction, science fiction, and children’s books, as well as numerous published media research papers and articles.

An acclaimed leader in media and advertising research, Bill was also a futurist and an inventor with four issued US patents. He consulted for hundreds of companies, including many in the Fortune 500.

In addition to awards for his books, Bill received awards for his contributions to media research and advertising, including an Emmy in 2022 for his pioneering work in technology. In practical terms, his invention helps diverse audiences with a wide range of interests to get all the types of programs they enjoy the most.

His most recent start-up company, RMT Labs, merges neuroscience, marketing, and media. He brought together a stellar team of professionals who are well-positioned to continue RMT Labs’ early successes.

Bill deeply loved his country and wanted to see everyone get along. He often wrote about how we could and should do that and posted these ideas in his blog, Pebbles in the Pond. He also wrote to presidents and congressional representatives to share his ideas.

A natural public speaker, Bill was invited on many radio talk shows, podcasts, and live engagements. You can view some of those speaking engagements on his YouTube channel, Bill & the Universe, The Bill Harvey Media Channel.

We have been deeply moved by the beautiful tributes from around the world for Bill and would like to share two of these with you.

We are especially grateful to Bill’s industry colleague and friend, Jack Myers, for the eloquent and heartfelt tribute he posted on his Myers Report. Here are some excerpts:

I cannot think of Bill as simply gone. He believed that consciousness extends beyond the boundaries we ordinarily place around it, and that every human life is part of a larger spiritual universe. I believe Bill would want us to understand his passage in that light…

To the media and advertising community, Bill was one of our most original and respected thinkers … continually challenging accepted assumptions. He asked the industry to … recognize that what is easiest to count is not always what counts most. … He understood that … communication carries a responsibility to elevate…

It’s his larger body of work for which I believe he most deserves to be remembered. His work in media was one expression of a much larger inquiry: How do our minds work, what prevents us from seeing clearly, and how can we become more conscious, creative, compassionate, and effective human beings?

Bill did not offer spirituality as an escape from reality. He presented it as a way of entering reality more fully. He believed we could learn to observe our own thinking, quiet the forces that distort it, reach the flow state, and use our minds rather than allowing our minds to use us.

He wrote about the discipline required to imagine ourselves inside another person’s experience. Empathy, for Bill, was not a slogan. It was a demanding exercise of consciousness and one of our responsibilities as human beings. His invitation was simple and profound: “Share warmth. Love to all.”

Bill spent his life exploring doorways into higher consciousness. Now he has passed through a doorway none of us can fully comprehend. … I will remain grateful for the intelligence, generosity, and spiritual light he shared with us. The best testimonial we can offer Bill is to keep his work alive. Read his books. Revisit his columns … Question your assumptions. Observe your own mind. Bring more imagination, warmth, and consciousness into every decision. (Read the full tribute here.)

∞

The following is excerpted from a tribute to Bill by Josh Chasin, posted on LinkedIn, which he delivered at an industry summit this week:

How do you describe the measure of a man who loved measurement, but who was himself immeasurable?

I cannot conjure a mental picture of Bill where he isn’t positively beaming, the light of life and love and wonder emanating from him like a beacon. He didn’t just make us better or smarter … He made us happier.

Perhaps the greatest legacy Bill could ask for would be that that smile, and that light, lives on in all of us. (Read the full tribute here.)

As mentioned earlier, we will be posting more of Bill’s writings here, in his continuing blog, Pebbles in the Pond.

Next week, we will continue serializing the revised 50th anniversary edition of Bill’s 1976 book, Mind Magic: The Science of Microcosmology.

To learn more about Bill, please read his books and the reader testimonials, available on the THEI website.

We also invite you to share your experience of Bill and his books, videos, and podcasts below in the comments. We would love to hear from you.

We hope you’ll revisit Pebbles in the Pond often to read new content from Bill.

We wish you all the best.

As Bill often signed off –
Love to all,

The THEI Team
Karen L. Harvey, Advisor
George Niver, CEO
Christine Niver, Art Director
Yana Lambert, Publishing Director

Awakening Real Will

Leave a reply

“Losing oneself and becoming a rolebot” and how to undo this

Welcome to this week’s Bill Harvey Blog.
September 18, 2026

MIND MAGIC / MIND EXPERIMENTS Book Excerpt Series: Part 9

Losing oneself and becoming a rolebot and how to undo this

People run on programs.
Programs are action patterns. For example. the way we get out of bed in the morning is an action pattern. Observe how you do it for a few days in a row, and you’ll see the pattern. The way you throw off the covers, swing your feet to the floor, how your body feels, what you think about, your mood, the people you think about, the emotions that strike you, and your attitude as you stand up, etc.

All this is an action pattern. Nothing is exactly the same from day to day, but everything stays within a relatively narrow range of variation. This is because there are now sets of interlacing programs in our biocomputers upstairs. They bring us through this action pattern daily without us having to consciously think about each move.

These automatic programs run 99% of our lives.

Of course, we all override the autopilot at times.
For example, when some potential danger snaps us into full alertness, we don’t make a move without thinking about it first. For example, when we are able to rise above “automatic-pilot” anger. For example, at moments of “peak realization”, “expanded consciousness”, or “satori”. But most of the rest of the time, although we repress knowledge of the fact religiously, we have no free will in what we do, because the body’s and mind’s movements follow conditioned paths from which deviation is improbable.

We always react to the same types of situations in the same ways. The programs go through their steps while we sleepily look on, along for the ride.

We consciously participated in creating these programs.
Some of the “autopilot” program punchcards in our heads were keypunched by our “conscious-mind-pilot”. For example, when we discovered how well we looked smiling that way, we decided offhandedly to keep doing it that way (at least at those times). Then our “conscious-mind-pilot” forgot about it.

The “autopilot” does it faithfully to this day whenever those times come up. Good “autopilot”!

On the other hand, the great preponderance of our “automatic pilot” programming appears to be of the Pavlovian variety, whereby we grew up addicted to certain shallow rewards without this being anyone’s conscious intention.

Mind Experiments

1. Watch action patterns.

  • Pick a day. On that day, from the moment you awaken, stay alert all day and watch your actions down to the smallest gesture.
  • When you seem to be observing an action pattern that appears significant to some part of your mind, ask yourself: “Why did I do that?” (Or, “Why am I doing this?”)

2. “Autopilot addictions” meditation

  • What were your mother and father “addicted” to (attached to getting or avoiding)?
  • How about your peers at school and others known to have influenced you: to what were they “addicted”?
  • To what extent do you now automatically mirror any of these addictions?

3. Meditate on the extent to which you “need” approval.

  • Whom do you “need” approval from? Why?
  • Clue: What do you work hardest at? Who would approve of you the most for working so hard at it?

Love to all,
Bill