Tony Robbins is a genius. This weekend I was down in San Jose to attend a Tony Robbins Seminar called "Unleash the Power Within". I really had no idea what to expect. I had seen him around on TV in the past as well as on the internet. When I was in medical school, one of our instructors had us listen to one of his CD sets for a practice management class. Many people have also seen the TED talk where he calls out Al Gore for losing the election. Which by the way has almost 12 million hits as of today. Talk about virality!
So what is all the hype about? Brilliantly applied psychology! I have never seen so many psych techniques packed into 4 days. Not to mention the effect of having 6000 people sitting through an infomercial disguised as a concert. Yes, I said concert. The whole thing was like a concert! Music, dancing, high energy; hell I even feel hung over and I did no drugs or alcohol. The drug was TONY!
But no seriously, I am HUNG OVER today! I have a massive headache, I am tired, achy all over, my eyes are red, pillow over the head... And here is why... Top Ten highlights of the weekend...
First of all I am an information junkie, I love to learn, I love info, I get high off of it! It jacks my dopamine like no other which makes me a great researcher. Man Tony really blasted my receptors with constant info. (Most days only had one 40 min break and we went from 8am to midnight!)
Second I feel like I just ran a marathon and played a game of tackle football because every 20 min or so we were jumping around, dancing, and generally acting crazy. I have runners high and I barely left a 5 foot area for 12 hours or more.
Third my man Tony (yes we are on a first name basis despite never having met) elicited massive oxytocin through my touched starved body by giving me multiple massages, hugs, and high fives from strangers! (Ha! Ironically the spell check wants to change oxytocin to oxycontin! I feel like I was on oxycontin!) I truly feel bonded to Tony and the 6000 strangers I attended the event with.
Fourth my Serotonin has been massively up-regulated. I am undepressed and I did not even know I was depressed.
Fifth I had every known psych technique applied in mass from neuro associative conditioning, hypnosis (pretty impressive hypnotizing 6000 people at once), affirmations ("I freaking rock!!!"), emotional mastery, guided imagery, and I am sure there were a plethora of techniques used that I was not even aware of.
Sixth Did i mention I walked on hot coals! Not that impressive, those of you who know me know I do crazier shit all the time. However, I did have a moment where I dropped out of the
"state" I was in and thought "these are not so hot" and then I burned my left foot! (I am fine). A further reminder that pain gating is an illusion of the brain. That night I calmly told my foot that I no longer needed the message of burning as there is no more fire now and the pain went away and I slept fine.
Seventh Spiritual experience... It was like ayahuasca, a pentacostal church, and a concert all rolled into one.
Eighth Seeing all the sheeple blindly consume lots of Tony Robbins stuff after being hyped into a massive emotional state where you almost could not help buying tons of stuff. Almost. Luckily I only sipped the kool-aid so I won't be going to Fiji with him just yet... But if I get enough withdrawal I just may!
Ninth Great information on the Battle of the Sexes. Clear examples of how masculine and feminine have different wants and needs and strategies to speak a common language.
Tenth Deep healing, removed some major belief systems that were getting in the way of my being able to thrive. I feel like I have both rewired these things out of my brain as well as rewired my brain to express a full range of emotions. When I was younger I had a brain injury playing sports that pretty much ended my contact sports career. I have been somewhat emotionally flat since. This is a common sign of chronic tramatic encephalopathy which is making the news as many NFL players are getting it. I have lately been afraid that I would get it to as I get older. Something has shifted this weekend as I am no longer afraid of it and am considering researching treatments to help the affected players.
Me on drugs... I smoked Tony!