Neo-Tech Interview
Several people email David L. Hunter asking questions about Neo-Tech. Below is an email interview from July 2000 by a Local Group customer. This interview is ideal for people who are new to Neo-Tech because it asks and answers questions relevant to new Neo-Tech owners and people struggling to assimilate Neo-Tech concepts.
Banzar: Hello. My name is Banzar. I am a young man who plans on deepening my understanding of the Neo-Tech philosophy. I am writing to you because you have demonstrated your grasp of this incredible idea system. I have listed several questions below that provide me with basic knowledge. I would appreciate your feedback if possible. Thank you in advance for your time.
What specific skills, knowledge and
tools should one master as a prerequisite to studying Neo-Tech?
Hunter: In my experience, you will want to master the basics of success literature such as goal setting, visualization, and creative thinking. This is about all you will need because the Neo-Tech literature is very comprehensive and covers most other areas. After you master Neo-Tech, then expand your knowledge in those areas that interest you, e.g., economics, law, literature, business, or whatever.
Banzar: What methods do you use to "dig in" and mine specific concepts while maintaining your conceptual grasp of the whole? How do you go about finding and utilizing other sources of information that dig deeper into specific subjects?
Hunter: There is a skill of balancing the specifics and overall picture. You do not want to overemphasize one or the other, but rather try to strike a balance between both. First, peruse the major Neo-Tech literature and let all that knowledge sink in. Over time, you will see the whole picture—you will understand exactly what it is about and how it evolved. Then go back over the Neo-Tech matrix and focus on those concepts that greatly interest you or that you are uncertain about. Then do further research in these areas to fill in your gaps of knowledge. Eventually, you will have a solid grasp of individual Neo-Tech concepts, and these will gel together in your mind into one unbreakable whole. At that point, you will have mastered Neo-Tech. You will have become invincible; no mystic, neocheater, or value destroyer can ever harm you again.
Banzar: How do you structure your study so that your knowledge is integrated across the whole philosophy? What is the most logical and hierarchical way to attack one's study?
Hunter: Read the major Neo-Tech publications first. If you can, study the Neo-Tech literature in this order:
1. Neo-Tech Discovery (or Zonpower Discovery)
2. Profound Honesty (or Zonpower from Cyberspace)
3. Cosmic Business Control (or God Man: Our Final Evolution)
4. Neo-Tech
Protection Kit (Volumes I and II)
Then study other Neo-Tech works that you find interesting such as The Story and Consultation Packages (audiotapes).
Lastly, get the Neo-Tech Reference
Encyclopedia and at least browse its contents if not read every word. This will
reveal the full picture of Neo-Tech origins. It is also a great place to find
reference books to study for deepening your knowledge of Neo-Tech. You will see
hundreds of books that are summarized and ranked.
To keep yourself growing in Neo-Tech power, continue perusing related Neo-Tech literature—especially Objectivist literature, Libertarian literature, etc.
Banzar: How do you go about converting Neo-Tech concepts into a dynamic code of ethics that is sufficient for life in the anticivilization?
Hunter: The only way in my experience is to build a rational civilization and then live in it. I have tried applying Objectivism and Neo-Tech in the anticivilization, and I have had bad experiences. Remember, an anticivilization is anti-man by nature. No idea system, however great, can produce continuously positive results in the anticivilization. My suggestion here is to prepare to live in the Civilization of the Universe or even help create it in any way you can. Then applying Neo-Tech becomes much more natural and beneficial.
As long as you are honest and productive in the anticivilization, you will do fine. But again, open-ended success (which I consider natural for conscious beings) is only possible in the Civilization of the Universe.
Banzar: What methods do you use to analyze your behavior by the Neo-Tech standard? How can you tell when your behavior has fallen beneath that standard? What methods do you employ to correct that behavior?
Hunter: Introspection, journal work, and diaries are great ways to analyze behavior. But even more important, you can plan your actions in advance using the Powerthinking/Miniday team. And as long as those actions are honest, you will be fine. Usually one's emotions provide signs that one has fallen beneath the standards one has set. So be sure not to repress emotions; let yourself experience any and all emotions. When you feel emotional pain, for example, ask yourself why, and you might realize that you are not being fully honest with yourself or others.
Correcting substandard behavior is a function of acknowledging to yourself that you have made a mistake and then thinking about appropriate action that would rectify the situation. As soon as you have done that, simply take the action you know is right. Then you are back on track. An important point here is to have compassion with yourself; do not be too harsh on yourself. In this transitory period from a mystical world to a mystic-free world, most of us will make mistakes along the learning curve of Neo-Tech knowledge. The fact that you acknowledge mistakes and correct them is tremendously valuable.
Banzar: How do you know when you are actually dumping mysticism? What are the objective indicators? What methods do you consciously use to smash mysticism?
Hunter: It has to be an explicit, conscious effort. You will know because your thinking will become clearer, you will become incrementally more powerful, and your life will become much more in tune with reality. To smash mysticism, first focus on conscious mysticism such as the God concept or political rip-offs. Once you have smashed obvious mysticism (such as the alluring but false notion that someone is going to rescue you and make your life great), go deeper by probing your subconscious for mysticism. This is much trickier, as personal defense mechanisms such as rationalizations will kick-in to protect subconscious mysticism.
I find that doing sentence completion exercises (a la Nathaniel Branden's work), Dianetics Auditing (a la L. Ron Hubbard's work), and journal work are powerful tools for exposing the contents of one's subconscious. Then, with those contents in front of you, you will quickly see what is ludicrous and what is valid. Just ignore or "starve out" the false notions in your subconscious whenever they try to assert themselves and make sure to replace those erroneous notions with valid ideas. Over time, as you gain and automatize valid knowledge, your subconscious will be mystic free.
After you have uprooted conscious and subconscious mysticism, you can reject external mysticism including all mystical/neocheating ploys that swirl around most people daily. Your life will become more powerful, richer, happier, and harmonious. You will have become in tune with the naturally evolving universe rather than the unnatural anticivilization.
Banzar: Becoming a master neothink person is a multiyear project. What methods do you use to track your growth over the years? What methods do you use to maintain your focus over the years?
Hunter: Journal work, the Powerthinking/Miniday team, and goal setting. Each of these records your progress, and a side benefit of goal setting is that you know exactly what you have accomplished and what you still need to do. The bottom line here is to record, in writing or on a computer, your actions and what you want to accomplish. Then review this information periodically to keep on track.
Banzar: What specific character traits and behavior must a person consistently exemplify before that person can rightfully be called a Neo-Tech person?
Hunter: Mystic-free thinking, honesty with self and others, and continuous value production.
Banzar: What steps have you taken to ensure that you optimize the full value of Neo-Tech/Zon? Why will you be a 1 in 100 student?
Hunter: If you are strongly motivated about Neo-Tech like I am, you will find all kinds of opportunities to plumb maximum value from Neo-Tech and Zonpower. Specifically, I read at least some Neo-Tech literature everyday. I also study literature on which Neo-Tech was discovered and continues to be developed, e.g., Objectivist products and Neo-Tech Reference Encyclopedia listings.
I am one of the first people to have mastered Neo-Tech because I am strongly motivated in this area. I love the Neo-Tech philosophy and it feels right to me. But what enables me to grasp Neo-Tech more than most others is because I did extensive research and then wrote about it for years. This act of teaching others through my writings, etc. enabled me to really understand Neo-Tech at a nuts-and-bolts level as well as grasping the overall picture. Dr. Peikoff says that the first beneficiary of teaching a subject is the teacher. I agree.
Banzar: What specific information sources have aided you in your Neo-Tech study? Books, tapes, seminars, websites, movies, newsletters etc.
Hunter: The information sources would be too numerous to list here. Please see http://www.localgroup.net/pmpb/reviews.html#target5 for specific books and tapes that have greatly assisted my understanding of Neo-Tech. As for websites, see http://www.localgroup.net/public/links and review sites listed under Atheism, Freedom, Libertarianism, Movies, Neo-Tech, Objectivism, and Personal Development.
Banzar: Please offer me any advice on any topic that you think is relevant to my aim.
Hunter: Be patient, persistent, and compassionate with yourself. You will get where you want to go, but it may be harder (or easier) than you think. If you persevere, you will do fine. And if you make mistakes along your path of Neo-Tech knowledge, remember to have compassion toward yourself. We are capable of error, and so should not overly punish ourselves in situations of error. If we are honest, we will correct errors and continue to grow.
Banzar: Thank you again for sharing your time and knowledge. I really do appreciate it.
Hunter:
Okay. I hope this helps you.
