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Is it really possible to stop mental torment?
Can the human mind actually completely stop thinking?
These were the questions on my mind when I started the memory and meditation training that culminated in The Victorious Mind: How to Master Memory, Meditation and Mental Well-Being.
In today’s episode of The Magnetic Memory Method Podcast, I’m sharing the opening of the audiobook version of my latest book.
Trigger Warning: It’s gritty.
But for those unfortunate enough to suffer from scattered thinking and endless torrents of negative thoughts, I’m confident this book will help you make a positive change.
About The Victorious Mind
The Victorious Mind tells the story of how one man – film scholar and creator of the Magnetic Memory Method Anthony Metivier – overcame the mental distress that imprisoned him in a “highly functioning manic-depressive” identity, and almost took his life, using three practices: self-inquiry meditation, memory training, and “biohacking.”
But more than a story of self-transformation, the book offers detailed guidance through the techniques Anthony used to release himself from the haze of lithium along with the illusion of self. Both entertaining and erudite, brain-science informed and stripped of BS, The Victorious Mind takes us along on a journey through cities of the world and Memory Palaces of the mind, where there are bad acid trips along the way but also Buddha Smiles.
The Victorious Mind is peopled with a surprising range of figures, from members of his Magnetic Memory Method community and Ancient Greek mnemonists, to secular-spiritual teachers of today such as Gary Weber, whose translations of ancient Sanskrit self-inquiry texts play a central role in Anthony’s self-transformation.
This book is ideal not just for those struggling with mental illness but for anyone suffering mental malaise – whether it’s digital amnesia and scatterbrain, depression or “control freakism.” What sets this book apart is also what defines its key message: there’s no one technique, no one path to freedom and quality of mental and physical life, and there’s no one teacher.
Rather, it’s the act of assembling the insights and practices of others with experimentation in one’s own body and mind that will enable us to be our own teachers, bring peace of mind and focus, and free ourselves from negative thinking.
Praise for The Victorious Mind
If only The Victorious Mind had been written ten years ago… It would have saved me a lot of frustration and self-blame in failing to keep up my regular meditation practice. Now I not only know why I struggled so much, but what to do instead.
– Seph Fontane Pennock, Co-founder, PositivePsychology.com
In The Victorious Mind, Anthony Metivier brings his terrifying experience of mental illness together with his depth of knowledge of memory systems to show how using mnemonics systematically can ease a troubled mind and replace terror with joy. This is a unique book from an author who speaks from a lifetime of experience beyond anything I could have imagined.
– Lynne Kelly, author of The Memory Code and Memory Craft
Anthony Metivier has a compelling personal story and a remarkable, practical methodology of helping us move beyond our stories and into the living truth. With one foot planted firmly in the relative and the other rooted in the Absolute, Anthony has hit the sweet spot that combines the two – which is authentic nonduality.
– Fred Davis, author of Awaken Now and The Book of Undoing
With so many memory books out there, this is really the first I’ve ever seen that heavily intertwines the ideas of meditation and memory. I’ve always felt the two go hand in hand and Anthony really does an amazing job at showing that! I highly recommend this book!
– Nelson Dellis, 4x USA Memory Champion and author of Remember It!
The Victorious Mind is a masterful book written by a master of the field. Anthony Metivier has written an invaluable resource to anyone who wants to learn to fully utilize their cognitive capabilities to build a sharper mind and a better life.
– Nir Eyal, bestselling author of Hooked and Indistractable
At last, someone has remembered the true purpose and potential of the Art of Memory. In times past, it was seen as a path of self development. Using its methods you could bring health, harmony and excellence into your mind and thus your life. Sadly, this beautiful, beneficial art has been all but forgotten, until now. In this dynamic book, Anthony Metivier teaches you this ancient wisdom with a modern slant. Written from his own experience this is a book that will show you how to develop a “magnetic” memory that holds the information you wish but also attracts the influences you want into your life.
– Martin Faulks, author of Enlightened Living
Anthony Metivier is a Warrior of the Mind!
– Tony Buzan, author of Mind Map Mastery and Co-Founder of the World Memory Championships
Dr. Metivier is a master of his craft and experienced teacher of the bridge between memory and meditation. In The Victorious Mind, you’re learning from the best!
– Jonathan Levi, author of The Only Skill that Matters and creator of SuperLearner
I now remember whole chunks of passages in another language. I’m learning with such ease that I often think it can’t be this easy. The real “work” has been to calm my anxieties, and in this, Anthony is a very wise and effective guide and teacher. I am very grateful to him.
– Jeannie Koh
I am usually a bit of an anxious person – not always suffering, but just someone with a very chatty mind, I’m always thinking, and being able to direct this energy in a productive way is very appealing to me. You have helped me direct my anxiety better.
– Daniella Lopez
I have made a lot of progress using this meditation technique to improve my spatial awareness and to see things clearer!
– Jeff Jansson
Anthony’s writing always triggers major moments of insight. The Victorious Mind goes deep and far beyond your typical “3 step method.” Highly recommended.
– Jimmy Naraine, motivational speaker
I’ve witnessed first-hand Anthony’s ability to channel his mind into overcoming challenges that would destroy most people. Extraordinary and inspiring.
– Olly Richards, iwillteachyoualanguage.com
The Victorious Mind is unlike any book I’ve ever read about memory and the human mind. Anthony shares his personal experiences with mental health, advanced memory practices and various types of meditation. He uses engaging personal transformation stories that stayed with me long after I read the book. It’s meticulously researched and contains many practices I’d never tried. I’m already working on my vision statement.
– Bryan Collins, Becomeawritertoday.com
Anthony has spent a lifetime bringing useful information to light on the subject of memory. In his latest work, The Victorious Mind, he opens an amazing door into the world of the human mind, blending ancient memory techniques with captivating meditative experiences. If you want a personal adventure into peace of mind, this is the read for you.
– Jim Samuels, author of Re-mind Yourself: Better Memory, Lower Stress
In one word… Wow! In this highly engaging and worthwhile book, Anthony shares his personal story… sometimes some very raw and vulnerable moments. I have completed masters studies in neuroscience and thought I knew a fair bit about memory. I even believed my memory capacity was reasonably good. I wasn’t even close! After reading The Victorious Mind, I realised there is so much more to embedding and remembering information successfully, which makes our lives more fulfilling.
– Josie Thomson, MCC and author of The Wise Advocate: The Inner Voice of Strategic Leadership (with Jeffrey M. Schwartz and Art Kleiner)
I’ve never read a memory book so visceral, yet so practical. Anthony holds nothing back in The Victorious Mind as he tells of his life-long struggle with mental illness in a manner both touching and humorous. I even learned things that I look forward to applying in my own memory training! I can’t recommend this book enough for anyone out there looking to improve their mental fitness.
– Braden Adams, 2x Canadian Mind Sports Association National Memory Champion
I consider Anthony Metivier a personal mentor. If there is someone who thinks about and uses memory techniques as often as he does, I haven’t found that person. He connects the dots better than anyone I know and will teach you how to use mnemonics to enhance the quality of your life.
– John Graham, 2018 USA Memory Champion
As a neuroscientist, I study the underlying mechanism of memory techniques and I am very interested in their widespread application. Because Anthony is such an expert in this field, having him uncover the use of mnemonics for mental health is fantastic and will help many readers!
– Boris Konrad, Guinness Record Holder and Memory Competitor, Award-Winning Speaker, and Neuroscientist
As a life long student of the art memory, I’ve read my fair share of rehashed How to memory books; this is not one of them. As someone who has dealt with depression and anxiety since leaving the military, this book really hit home. Dr. Metivier takes you through a guided tour of his early life, the demons he faced, his process of overcoming them, and his journey in becoming the modern-day Giordano Bruno.
I can not thank him enough for his part in my metamorphosis from a mentally beat up U.S. Vet to a top student in University.
– Adolfo Artigas
I bought this book in hopes for some memory techniques and a good read. Instead, I was surprised to behold a Swiss Army knife of meditation, breathing, and memory skills wrapped in the warm blanket of human experience and fascinating autobiography.
The writing is concise and to the point. Necessary for the teaching of time honored techniques and exercises, put here to a new focus. Memory and well being. Anthony reveals great vulnerability in telling his story through the sufferings and mishaps that plagued his past, but there is no , “poor me” syndrome in the tone of his writing. He writes sincerely, with an open heart, to help others avoid the detrimental mental states that limited his potential during his obvious suffering.
He encourages you, step by step, leading you in exercises to avoid/alleviate the pitfalls he encountered. Inspired by the traditions of Zen Buddhism, Mindfulness, and the works of Gary Weber and Alan Watts, Anthony Metivier brings you lifetimes of meditation practices without you having to sit under a tree for eternity or stare at a wall for millennia.
Where he really shines is in the memory exercises which are his expertise! Whether you have been using Memory Palaces for decades or are following along building your very first palace, he guides you thoughtfully into the powerful techniques which can transform your life. I found his candid tales through dangerous mental states inspiring and egoless. He did not make this book to huff and puff about highfalutin memory techniques. He draws you through his suffering and allows you to experience the grace of success within the handling of his own mental state with the exercises he bequeaths to you in this charming book. Come for the techniques, stay for the drama! You will not be disappointed.
– Christian Fitzharris
How to Get The Victorious Mind
The Victorious Mind on Audible
2 Responses
Hi Anthony,
I’m currently making my way through the victorious mind. Thank you for sharing your story and the wisdom you have acquired through your trials and tribulations!
I found your site a number of weeks ago while researching memory techniques and happened to also be reading about Buddhism and meditation. When I saw your book it looked to be a perfect fit for my new vein of interests and I am certainly not disappointed! I’m making my way through blog posts and your free course and I’m loving all the content, many thanks!
I am trying to use a mixture of meditation and the relaxation techniques you outline in the book to work through some MSc coursework I am finding particularly laborious at the moment. What has your experience been with using such techniques to overcome resistance, as Steven Pressfield would put it, that your mind puts forward when you face a task you find particularly irksome?
Thanks again for sharing your learning with the world!
Liam.
Thanks so much for reading The Victorious Mind, Liam. That’s much appreciated and great timing considering your current reading.
About overcoming resistance, I find that the key is not so much to overcome it, but:
1) Contextualize it
2) Neutralize it
3) Rinse and repeat
Additional tools that might be needed include gratitude journaling. Often we really have no business finding certain things “irksome” as you put it. That’s either because we chose it, or they are very interesting problems to have in the first place.
I think you’ll find the whole of the book helpful across the board, and perhaps in more granular ways, the chapter on free will.
Thanks again for reading and look forward to further thoughts and conversation about the path to mental well-being and freedom. 🙂