I didn't. My knowledge of the Silva Method comes from two sources:
1. Reading about it (in the original text by Jose Silva)
2. Discussing with a Silva Method instructor.
She was asking me to consider signing up for the Silva Method course (it's just a 2 or 3 day course). I had actually met up with her for another reason - she is also a hypnotherapist - and I had gone to her for that.
She uses hypnosis to help her clients with a wide variety of problems - most commonly, addictions to smoking or alcohol; also, things like lack of self-confidence; fear of public speaking; fear of heights etc.
One reason I didn't sign up for the Silva Method course is that it seemed rather expensive. My perception of the Silva Method is that it's the early cousin of a few other more modern approaches, like NLP; and the techniques taught by Deepak Chopra.
If Jose Silva was alive today, I don't think he'd like to be known as "New Age". Basically he was a not-very-well-educated fellow from a poor family, who nevertheless had a great interest in research and experiments. In his life story, you'd see how he was also tinkering with gadgets like radios and TVs, trying to figure out how they worked.
His endless curiosity about everything led him to experimenting with the human brain - first his children's (he was attempting to find ways to make them really smart in his school), then his own ... and then, hey presto, the Silva Mind Control Method emerged.
Silva was a staunch Christian by the way. In his books, you'd find him incidentally saying that Jesus is his saviour etc. But the Silva Mind Method itself is taught in a secular way.
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