Volume 11, Issue 10, page 13

THE UNSHACKLED, by Richard W.

Wetheril1. 120 p,., mimeo.
$5.00 contribution. Pub. by
Humanetics, Wynnewood, Penn.

Richard Wetherill has written several books in the last
decade and a half in his effort
to introduce widely his proposed cure for minds enslaved
by distorted thinking, but in
this reviewer's distorted (presumably) thinking, in none of
them has he succeeded to the
extent he has in "The Unshackled", latest in the series.

Much of "The Unshackled"
seeks to show how we, all of
us (the author included), in
times of emotion, pick up illogical phrases and turn them
into subconscious laws that we
use in our everyday thinking
until our actions become completely irrational due to this
chain of commands over which
we have lost conscious control .
This book, by citing many examples, traces the deterioration of reasoning from the initial command phrase that is
the infectious "germ", to the
subsequent enslavement to the
destroying disease of wrong
thinking.

So insidious are these command phrases and so devastating the result that the reader
is almost panicked at the probes abilities. Even before one has
read more than a few pages in
the book, he finds himself
scanning his own motives and
memories for distorted logic
z that may be to blame for most
of the problems of daily living that he has accepted as
life's vicissitudes.

But it is not necessary to
make of himself a garbage pail
W for ills and "bad luck ", unW less he has buried in his mental bank a command phrase such
G14 as "I enjoy trouble", or "Being in Dutch makes me feel
im- portant". I f he has an honest
C4 desire to change, to correct
cc his distortions of logic, he
need only recognize that he
has them, and start bringing
them to the surface for reevaluation. Providing, of
course -- and this is the most
important part, as Wetherill
points out with great stress --
he must be honest about it, and
13 his motives dictated by right
thinking. Wrong thinking is
what is troubling you now; to
reverse the way you' re going,
you must make a U-turn and go
in the opposite direction.

Without preaching, We therill has consumed about a third
of the bock in a discussion of
sex -- and how wrong thinking on
this subject controls some of
us as much, if not even more,
than alcohol or narcotics. It
is distorted thinking, not the
propinquity of coeducation,
on which he blames some of the
"misleading myths" about sex,
or vice versa, the misleading
myths about sex are to blame
for most of our distorted
thinking.

Use of humanetics, however,
does not mean one must become
continent or a prude; it merely means he has regained complete control over his decisions, and makes them . in the
light of what is "right" under
the varying circumstances.

The last few chapters of
"The Unshackled" trace the
history of the development of
humanetics and the difficulties
besetting anyone who seeks to
upset the combined distorted
thinking of a world that has
let itself sink to the level
of atom bombs and possible
world destruction. As an example of his problem, he says
that it took him 23 years to
teach humanetics to his wife,
but that her understanding,
when it did come, was instantaneous.

Too many persons have been
so warped by "psychology" and
"positive thinking" that their
minds are closed to any idea
that might invalidate their
conclusions. Such as the minister who rejected humanetics
because he thought only God
had the right to perform miracles, and accepted help only
when told to get down on his
knees and ask God for the correct command phrase. Which he
did -- and the help was forthcoming. However, Wetherill
points out, those professing
to be atheists also have been
helped without resorting to
such deific importunity.

And then there was the victim of an ailment diagnosed by
doctors as uncurable, who came
to humanetics for aid alt10 he
was without funds and unable
even to travel. His reaction,
`I'm so enthusiastic over this
miraculous recovery that I
have joined a local church and
am advising all my friends to
read books on positive thinking." Which, to this reviewer's way of distorted thinking,
reflects the impossible task
Richard Wetherill.has set himself in trying to remove distorted thinking from a world
in competition with sp many
forces working equally as hard
to install same. -- A. Hart.
* * *
WHY SUFFER ? -- Ann Wiggmore, D.
D., N. D., Ps.D., Ph.D., Ms.
D., D.B.M., D.B.M. 448