"Be transformed by the renewal of your mind..." Romans 12:1-2
I've always had an avid interest in everything metaphysical, spiritual, psychological, neurological and where they meet and interact. In elementary school and junior high my best friend's mother was a psychic. I witnessed her gift and accuracy first hand more than once. We often accompanied her to psychic faires and church gatherings. (In California some churches like Unity and other non-denominational churches embrace the metaphysical unlike bible belt and evangelical churches).
One of my biggest realms of interest has always been visualization, meditation, prayer, positive thinking, the mind and the brain. The mind-body connection which has been proven by scientists like Dr. Candace Pert author of Molecules of Emotion. Thoughts and their influence on us is real. Metaphysicians recognize thought forms, and their connection to formation of personal reality, and their value in creating happiness and success. I'm particularly interested in their role in sports performance, weight control, and achieving fitness or any other goals. Many studies prove athletes (and everyone else) can improve their performance by practicing visualization.
The human brain does not know the difference between visualized 'events' and actual events experienced in real time and space. This means your mind and your thoughts can set you up for success or failure depending on your mental patterns. Negative thinking begets negative results, positive begets positive.
"The brain doesn't make different between an imagined event and a real one, providing that you are able to visualize things with clarity and intensity, something imagined or visualized in your mind can have the same value as a real experience, it is why you can mentally train for any ability and even for body change, it was demonstrated by studies at the Manchester University that people were able to have muscles growth during one week of sessions of hypnosis, during hypnosis sessions the group were asked to visualize themselves having bigger muscles."
In the world of science, the fact that matter is actually a perception has been verified by both experiments and theoretical studies.
In the 1980's I began meditating, communicating with my spirit guides, as well as using subliminal message tapes and guided meditation tapes. But in the last eight years since I had Bruno I've had very little time for such practices except meditation and prayer first thing in the morning before I get up and occasionally in the bathtub (the only place I can be alone some days).
Well, just recently I've been researching subliminal tapes and hypnosis for the weight loss eBook I'm working on. And for a week I've had some trouble sleeping after 1:30 am (when Jerry leaves for work). My dogs started barking right under my bedroom window. Not constantly but just spaced out enough to jar me awake every hour or so. In the summer this isn't an issue as we run the air conditioner all night and the hum is like a white noise machine and a wonderful way to mask outside noises.
But it's still chilly at night so I tried playing the stereo - the sound was too uneven and disruptive. I tried a few nature sounds CDs - same thing. So yesterday I dug up a set of Theta Meditation System CDs - a clinically proven audio technology by Dr. Jeffrey Thompson, founder of the Center For Neuroacoustics Research. I popped one into my laptop and listened to it with headphones. Then popped one into our bedroom stereo in case the dogs woke me up. (They didn't of course. Naughty beasts slept all night).
But I did sleep notably sounder and had lovely dreams (maybe it's the power of suggestion but who cares why. More on how these CDs work below). I've got another of his CD sets, Awakened Mind System and I'm going to look for it today (a bunch of my CD sets are on a shelf behind my Urban Rebounder and Twist N Step so I have to move some exercise equipment to get to them). I'm also looking at other CDs at Amazon and plan to try The Delta Sleep System and Creative Mind System.
About Brain Waves
Brainwaves are categorized in 4 categories : Beta, Alpha, Theta and Delta.
Beta (13- 40 cycles per second)
Beta is associated with our waking activity. During a day we experience all the brainwave patterns with a predominance of Beta.
Alpha (8-13 cycles per second)
The first pattern discovered in 1908 by an Austrian Psychiatrist named Hans Berger. Alpha pattern appears when in wakefulness where there is a relaxed and effortless alertness. Light meditation and day dreaming. It is recommend to practice your creative visualization and auto-suggestion technique in alpha state.
Theta (4-7 cycles per second)
Associated with creativity, dreams and Extra-sensory perception for the student the theta state is something to learn to go at will. They are countless ways to reach theta
How Neuroacoustics Work
Brainwave synchronization, commonly referred to as "brainwave entrainment," is the practice of entraining one's brainwaves to a desired frequency, by means of a periodic stimulus with corresponding frequency. The stimulus can be aural as in the case of binaural beats, monaural beats, and isochronic tones, visual, as with a dreamachine, a combination of the two with a mind machine, or even electromagnetic radiation.
How Subliminal Messages Work
Subliminal messages work with virtually no effort on your part. Here is some essential information about it.
When messages are flashed in front of you at a very high speed, your eyes don't see these messages, but your subconscious mind instantly understands and accepts them.
Used wisely, by consciously choosing the best positive affirmations that you need to impress upon your subconscious mind, whether it be adding a new attitude or skill or dropping an addiction or a phobia, you can improve your life quickly, easily, and effortlessly, with no effort at all when you use subliminal technology.
You can understand how subliminal messages work when you understand that the mind is like an iceberg, with 10% being the Conscious Mind and 90% being the Subconscious Mind. Any message that is not filtered out by the critical Conscious Mind slips into the uncritical Subconscious Mind and has a massive effect on attitude and behavior.
Benefits of Meditation
The brain waves of meditators show why they're healthier. Neuroscientists have found that meditators shift their brain activity to different areas of the cortex—brain waves in the stress-prone right frontal cortex move to the calmer left frontal cortex. In other words, they were calmer and happier than before.
Maybe meditation isn't so mysterious after all. Neuroscientists have found that meditators shift their brain activity to different areas of the cortex - brain waves in the stress-prone right frontal cortex move to the calmer left frontal cortex. This mental shift decreases the negative effects of stress, mild depression and anxiety. There is also less activity in the amygdala, where the brain processes fear.
Jon Kabat-Zinn, Ph.D., of the University of Massachusetts Medical School, recorded the brain waves of stressed-out employees of a high-tech firm in Madison, Wisconsin. The subjects were split randomly into two groups, 25 people were asked to learn meditation over eight weeks, and the remaining 16 were left alone as a control group.
All participants had their brain waves scanned three times during the study: at the beginning of the experiment, when meditation lessons were completed eight weeks later and four months after that. The researchers found that the meditators showed a pronounced shift in activity to the left frontal lobe. In other words, they were calmer and happier than before. The study will be published in the next issue of Psychosomatic Medicine.
More Links:
Mind Body Techniques, Meditation, Hypnotherapy, Biofeedback
Mind and Body Connection
Stress: The Mind-Body Connection
Christian Guided Meditation
The Brain During Meditation
Visualization and Healing
Brainwaves and state of consciousness
Brain Wave Training - Biofeedback and Neurofeedback
Neurofeedback Wiki
About Dr. Jeffrey Thompson:
Dr. Thompson has been experimenting with sound scientifically since 1980. He first started in his Holistic Health Center in Virginia which grew to be the largest Center of its kind in Virginia at the time. His experiments were in using exact sound frequencies to make Chiropractic spinal and cranial adjustments, to stimulate and normalize organ function and to balance Acupuncture Meridians. He developed a very gentle and effective method of making adjustments and continues to use this approach today. His gentle and effective method is much appreciated by his patients.
Fortune 500 Companies and Private Consulting -
Dr. Thompson’s clinical work has also led to the development of programs and consultation work for Fortune 500 Companies like Cisco, Nike and Mattel. These programs are designed to boost creativity, lateral thinking and “out-of-the-box” new and original solutions and product design. Dr. Thompson’s work with group creativity at Mattel was featured on the front page of the business section of the Wall Street Journal. These programs empower employees and boost bottom lines.
