The book shows how we can survive in this world of manipulation by critical thinking and mindful consumption of content. Assalamu Alaikum😊, ' If you don't follow your own map, someone else will direct your journey for you' -extracts from the book Very enjoyable conversation with comedian, star of GB News, and top lad Paul Cox. Paul talks about:-What it's like to work for GB News, his thoughts on the recent scandal, and where he thinks the channel will go in the future-The comedy world's reaction to him appearing on GB-Why he is optimistic about British comedy -Where he stands politically-His views on marriage -His thoughts on immigration and multiculturalism -His worries for the future of Britain -How we win the culture war And lots more! A book like 'Free your mind' is actually a best guide on the current culture. Many times we fall for something, not analysing whether it is required or not. Keeping oneself immune to manipulation is the key. Have you heard of Dunning Kruger effect? There were much more phenomenons explianed in the book which was a new phrase for me😅. Advice included frequency of exposure to green themes being bolstered by “core characters within a show so that green issues can fluently be raised time and time again”, that a family could discuss reducing their waste in a comedy show, or that a drama could include references to buying an electric vehicle. As the authors state, Sky made the startling admission that this is just the evolution of an ongoing process of social engineering, “Behaviour change via broadcasting and traditional media has historically been aimed at improving public health, boosting gender equality and reducing violence. Imagine the potential for emissions reductions if the same methods were used to encourage sustainable behaviours!” they apparently said.

Today, people searching for meaning shift seamlessly from one ‘current thing’ to another. You can see it play out on social media accounts, when emojis get swapped out for one temporary crusade after another. Crucially, nature abhors a vacuum and we are more susceptible to cults and mass movements if we don’t know what we stand for. If people are empty inside, if they do not have some kind of guiding principles, then they risk being filled up by another ideology. As G. K. Chesterton said, “Those who leave the tradition of truth do not escape into something which we call Freedom. They only escape into something else, which we call Fashion.” We must all decide what we stand for if we don’t want to fall for anything . My books Bare Reality: 100 women, their breasts, their stories, Manhood: The Bare Realityand Womanhood: The Bare Reality attracted worldwide media coverage and critical acclaim. I gave a TEDxtalk about the series. A Channel 4 documentary based on Womanhoodcalled 100 Vaginashas now been aired around the world. That led to being commissioned by The Guardian to direct another documentary, SCARS. Sometimes we tend to think so hard, we lose our gut instinct and fall prey to our biases. You can debias the mind during any form of mindful meditation, by improving ‘interoceptive awareness’. Just one 15-minute mindfulness session can reduce the incidence of a particular cognitive bias by 34%. Counter-intuitively, to free your mind, don’t overthink it. Free Your Mind" works like a mind-map of techniques and guidelines which can help readers in overcoming and defeating brainwash and manipulation. The book how "Warfare is evolving; And all the world's a stage; Anything we touch is a weapon." with respect to mind reading, persuasion and provokation. Part of the problem is that it is more difficult to parse information that arrives via a TV screen, it is much better to read the written information if one wants to interrogate an argument and deploy critical thinking, a point dwelt on in the chapter that follows.The book takes us on a tour of several media technologies that it could be argued do just that. There is a great chapter entitled, “Practice Social Distancing” which rehearses the ways in which we are addicted and obliged to participate in social media and in so doing leave a trail of digital breadcrumbs so that we can be more easily found, and easily second-guessed. The authors add their three “rules”: temporarily unplug, confuse the platforms by creating multiple identities and accounts; and use multiple search engines.

The same themes run through everything I do: my work is an exploration of people, our lives and our place in the world. I’m drawn to telling the untold story with integrity. So, the overriding message of this book is that whilst we still have the opportunity to do so, on the occasion when we notice something that jars with a media depiction, an official narrative, some unfamiliar symbolism or an act of technological persuasion that we feel might be influencing us, then we should say something. For to speak our minds is to free our minds. Only by being able to speak one’s words freely, will one ever free one’s mind. My recent focus on fear follows a trajectory of interest in the taboo and what makes us who we are. You might say I went from pillow talk to nightmares. You see, it all started with the Bare Realityseries…When you are manipulated, half of the problem is the messaging itself, but half of the problem is you. Sometimes natural human foibles are being weaponised against you, and sometimes it’s your own unique emotional landmines. It’s the work of a lifetime to understand ourselves and stop self-haunting – meditation offers an important solution. There is a chapter on TV which is treated as the most successful major public technology so far utilised in the mass brainwashing of the public. One study cited, found a correlation between reports of high-profile crimes on U.S. television news and a significant increase in public belief that crime and violence were the nation's foremost problem. This presumably gives certain political parties or actors an advantage over others. While the goal is to free your mind, the universe is infinitely big, and our brains are minuscule by comparison, so we can each only see a tiny slice of reality. Much of what we sense as reality is actually an illusion. However, we can use that fact to our advantage, and each choose the perceived world we want to live in.

It is more frequent that we fall into the trap of deciding on something without thinking whether we actually are in need. Now that influencers are the biggest manipulators, we need to be immune to our minds without wavering thoughts. Nowadays people know how to inject thoughts into people's minds to make them fall for it. The book explains a lot of phenomena that might seem new but actually, something we are experiencing.

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In this era of Social Media, you can find tons of Influencers. How do they seek the phrase 'Influencers'? They typically inject throughts in the listener's mind about someting which in turn manipulates them to follow their words. 20 chapters in 'Free your Mind' covers various aspect like Realiziation, immunisation, overthinking, social media distancing, siding with the right aspects and much more. The book promotes critical thinking, giving readers the tools they need to regain control and defend themselves against the relentless assault of deception in contemporary culture. Some big themes emerge. The first is the military analogies running through both the stories and the science. The book opens on a chapter about interrogation including a return to what happened at Guantanamo Bay. This chapter retells the story of James, a soldier who took a five day course on how to survive interrogation. It provides a good guide on the skill of resistance, both active and avoidant, and as the authors remind us, quoting William Sargent in Battle For The Mind, the most difficult animals to condition are those that will not engage with the experimenter. Analytic meditation is a more advanced form of meditation practised by Buddhists, including the Dalai Lama. It teaches you to research and know your mind. Pondering the thoughts that influence your behaviour and attitudes, which can bring about inner change, a more positive state of mind and psychological awareness. But I was left with one very firm impression, that we do have a choice. Even though our available choices may sometimes seem illusory (a point made in the chapter titled “Consider Your Options”) in fact there is only one fundamental choice to make. That is between staying silent and speaking out. If the book makes anything clear, it is the fact that most of our opinions today are given to us via the media.

Wonderful book, I will no longer be controlled and nudged into conformity. I refuse to drive on the left from now on I choose the middle path through the traffic. My first journey will be to cemetery where I will tell Uncle Ahmed to get up and move his lazy arse, covid is just a cold, and avoiding infection is just mind control. The next time I see a man transitioning into a woman, but not quite pulling it off I will stand in the street point and shout as it says in the book “ the emperor has no clothes on” and everyone will see the light and agree with me. But they do a great job of finding manipulation techniques and great examples of people like magicians and journalists where the techniques can be found then at the end of the chapters the rules are useful. Psychology used to be about diagnosing and fixing people, but now it is as much about predicting and manipulating you, thanks to adoption of behavioural science by governments and corporations. Human beings are subject to biases which are used against us, mercilessly, such as our conformity and authority biases. If, to an extent, we must live in an illusion, we have the power to choose one we like. Instead of doom-scrolling on social media you can focus on films, books, theatre, podcasts and artworks that elevate your mind and mood.Forty-six percent of people actively avoid news every day because it makes them miserable and trust in media is low. Thrashing out debates online doesn’t seem to be bringing forth happiness or peace. On the other hand, studies show that reading poetry improves well-being and positive affirmations are self-fulfilling prophecies. The human mind is a wondrous thing which demands ingenuity and truth. We believe your mind should be free. Fortunately, there is a field manual for winning in this information a battlefield: here are six rules from our new book Free Your Mind to live by. Finding an authentic purpose in life is one of the most important guardrails against undue influence. This is intrinsic to the world’s religions. For the agnostic or atheist, you can find also purpose by self-individuating (as Jung called it) through meaningful work, family and community.