De Bono - H+ (Plus) a New Religion

CONTENTS

About the Book

Edward de Bono has revolutionised the way we think. And now hes about to change the way we live our lives

In this groundbreaking, thought-provoking book, Edward de Bono offers us a new way of living based on an entirely positive way of life. In H+ (Plus) he provides a framework for happiness through daily acts of help or contribution. Whether this is offering other people something to laugh at or helping an elderly person cross the road, these altruistic acts lead to a sense of achievement, and from achievement comes self-esteem and a belief in oneself.

Discover the secret to leading a fuller, happier, healthier, more positive way of life.

About the Author

Edward de Bono is the leading authority in the field of creative thinking and the direct teaching of thinking as a skill. While there are thousands of people writing software for computers, Edward de Bono is the pioneer in writing software for the human brain. From an understanding of how the human brain works as a self-organising information system, he derived the formal creative tools of lateral thinking. He is also the originator of parallel thinking and the Six Thinking Hats. His tools for perceptual thinking (CoRT and DATT) are widely used in both schools and business.

Edward de Bonos instruction in thinking has been sought by many of the leading corporations in the world, such as IBM, Microsoft, Prudential, BT (UK), NTT (Japan), Nokia (Finland) and Siemens (Germany). The Australian national cricket team also sought his help and became the most successful cricket team in history.

A group of academics in South Africa included Dr de Bono as one of the 250 people who had most influenced humanity in the whole course of history. A leading Austrian business journal chose him as one of the 20 visionaries alive today. The leading consultancy company, Accenture, chose him as one of the 50 most influential business thinkers today.

Edward de Bonos methods are simple but powerful. The use of just one method produced 21,000 ideas for a steel company in one afternoon. He has taught thinking to Nobel prize winners and to young people with Downs syndrome.

Edward de Bono holds an MD (Malta), MA (Oxford), DPhil (Oxford), PhD (Cambridge), DDes (RMIT) and LLD (Dundee). He has had faculty appointments at the universities of Oxford, Cambridge, London and Harvard and was a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford. He has written 70 books with translations into 40 languages and has been invited to lecture in 58 countries.

The Edward de Bono Foundation is concerned with the teaching of constructive thinking in Education and Management. For further information contact:

The Edward de Bono Foundation

PO Box 2397

Dublin 8

Ireland

Tel: +353 1 8250466

Email:

Website: www.edwarddebonofoundation.com

Also by Edward de Bono:

How to Have a Beautiful Mind

The Six Value Medals

In praise of Edward de Bono

Edward doesnt just think. He is a one-man global industry, whose work is gospel in government, universities, schools, corporates and even prisons all over the world Times 2

The master of creative thinking Independent on Sunday

Edward de Bono is a cult figure in developing tricks to sharpen the mind The Times

Edward de Bono is a toolmaker, his tools have been fashioned for thinking, to make more of the mind Peter Gabriel

de Bonos work may be the best thing going in the world today George Gallup, originator of the Gallup Poll

The guru of clear thinking Marketing Week

Is H+ a religion?

Maybe.

Is H+ different from other religions?

Maybe.

Is maybe a good enough basis?

Maybe.

Most religions focus on the ultimate truth.
There seem to be different versions of this.

Maybe maybe is also useful.

BELIEF

MANY RELIGIONS HAVE a belief in the supernatural. This may be a belief in God or in supernatural forces. Some ask for a belief in many gods.

In H+ there is only a belief in the potential of yourself and in the potential of your fellow human beings. H+ sets a framework for the development of this potential. You believe that you can act in a certain way or that you will eventually be able to act in this way.

COMPATIBLE

H+ IS A way of life that is fully compatible with any other religion or framework: Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, etc.

H+ does not impinge upon or compete with other belief systems.

You can keep all the beliefs and values of those other religions and simply add H+ to them.

H+ provides an action framework. Although action frameworks are implicit in many religions, they are not as explicit as in H+, which is based on action.

This action framework can be added to any existing religion or belief system since there is no contradiction at all.

DIFFERENT

MOST RELIGIONS FOCUS on avoiding sins and wrongdoing. With H+ the emphasis is entirely on positive action. You have to contribute and make a difference. Being free of sin is not enough. The emphasis is on action and involvement with the world. Many religions suggest detachment from the world and the peace of tranquillity. With H+ there is action and achievement. Your self-worth arises from your achievements, not from meditation.

There is no intrinsic belief system in H+ except the belief in yourself not necessarily as you are but as you can be. At the same time any belief system belonging to any other religion is fully acceptable. This is unlike most religions, that do not tolerate other belief systems.

A WAY OF LIFE

H+ IS A religion in the sense that Buddhism is a religion.

H+ is a way of life.

Maybe we should invent a new term of woligion to cover a way of life religion.

POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE

MOST RELIGIONS EMPHASISE the negative.

Most religions tell us what we should not do. There are defined sins and guilt and punishment even in eternal fire.

H+ is entirely positive. The emphasis is not on sins that are to be avoided but on things that are to be done.

The original purpose of the negativity of most religions was to keep order in society by ensuring that people behaved in a suitable way. H+ uses the negativity that is already in place from laws, other religions, moral precepts, social behaviour, etc. All these continue to operate in the same way. To them is added the positive nature of H+.

In H+ the emphasis is on:

POSITIVE

CONSTRUCTIVE

CONTRIBUTING

In H+ it is not enough to detach yourself from the ills of the world. It is not enough to sit in a corner and perfect yourself. You perfect yourself only by contributing to your fellow human beings and the world around.

You help yourself by helping others. There are no hermits in the desert unless they are thinking big thoughts that will eventually help others.

The intention of helping others and the effort of helping others is what matters. The effectiveness of that help may need to be developed over time.

Every plusser (which may become the general term for those who know about H+) will have a private agenda of actions that could help others.

You assess yourself on how successful you have been in helping others.

There is emphasis. There is attitude. There are actions. The emphasis on certain matters leads to the development of specific attitudes. These matters are listed in the following pages and are all part of the H+ framework.