You Are the Placebo: Making Your Mind Matter

“Although we don’t have all the answers yet about harnessing the power of the placebo, all sorts of people are actually using these ideas right now to make extraordinary changes in their lives, the kind of changes that many others consider practically impossible.”

This quote showcases Dispenza’s characteristic conversational tone. He uses the first person plural to create a sense of intimacy. In setting up an opposition between those who “make extraordinary changes in their lives” and those who consider these changes “practically impossible,” Dispenza aims to undermine skepticism, encouraging readers to identify with the former group and against the latter.

“Is it possible that Sam Londe died from thought alone? Is it possible that thought is that powerful? And if so, is this case unique?”

This quote is the first of many rhetorical questions Dispenza asks of the reader, usually as conclusions to his arguments. This rhetorical strategy allows Dispenza to make a statement without actually making it, eliding alternatives to his interpretation of events. For instance, he does not follow up these questions by asking whether there were other mitigating factors, like the emotional toll of the death of Londe’s wife, medical malpractice, or even just his advanced age that could account for the death. Questions that naturally lead the reader towards Dispenza’s idea of the placebo effect are the only ones presented.

“Although each of the early explorers of suggestibility had a slightly different focus and technique, they were all able to help hundreds and hundreds of people heal a wide variety of physical and mental problems by changing their minds about their maladies and about how those illnesses were expressed in their bodies.”

This quote exemplifies Dispenza’s technique of distilling complicated information into straightforward narratives. He uses this engaging style to lead the reader towards his own conclusions, presenting his interpretation of events as common sense and uncontroversial.