Frequency-Following Response, Binaural Beats, the "God" helmet??? - What are the limits of FFR technology?

Frequency-Following Response, (or more affectionately: FFR) is a scientific way to describe "grooving to your favourite tune". And it's a handy phrase in that it points to the neural function that would otherwise be referred to rather insubstantially as: "You know that feeling you get when you listen to good music?"

FFR was discovered in 1839 by Heinrich Dove, the neuro-scientist who revealed that the "beat" observed when hearing two, dissonant, pure tones, is assimilated in the brain when the two tones are presented separately through stereo headphones. By changing the frequency (the note) of the two tones, Dove observed that the brain patterns of his subjects were responding by "following" the changes in frequency.

The topic was dismissed as irrelevant by the medical community until 1973, when it was revisited by Dr. Gerald Oster, who's research paper "Auditory Beats In The Brain" was published in Scientific American. But the attitude of the medical associations remained a condescending "Ok, so what?"

It may be of interest that, at this point, the implications of FFR were the replacement of risky experimental psycho-active drugs with self hypnosis - learning positive suggestions aided by Binaural Beats - and that the very idea of such a revolution in accepted psychological treatment immediately provoked a strongly negative response from the medical fraternity, and more specifically the pharmaceutical industry. 

Koren "God" Helmet, Stanley Koren,
senior technician for the research group

Like Tesla, Essiac, and water cars, FFR technology went underground, and came up recently in a highly controversial project which became known as "The God Helmet". Taking the Frequency-Following Response to a new extension, Dr. Michael Persinger's research into the role of the limbic system in the perception of mystical experiences, Laurentian University's Neuroscience Department, resulted in the construction of an apparatus which provides magnetic signals to the brain, and runs on a computer software program. The brain follows the frequency of the signals, and according to test subject reports, tends to produce experiences of a spiritual nature.


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NLP, Binaural Beats, and Isochronic Tones

[Bin = two; aural = audible] - An illusory beat is perceived when pure tones of slightly different frequency are separately and simultaneously presented to each ear. 

Frequency-Following Response: The neural firing rate "follows" the perceived frequency.

Do pure tone binaural beats sometimes make you feel queasy? You may find that isochronic tones create a more gentle, less dissonant carrier wave for your affirmations and intentions, or you may find them annoying and distracting, and binaural beats really do it for you - the important thing is that you find a carrier wave that works for you, because FFR (Frequency-Following Response) is hard-wired, and everyone can benefit from it.

FFR is a scientific way to describe grooving to your favourite tune. Its a handy phrase, because it points to the neural function that would otherwise be referred to rather insubstantially as: "You know that feeling you get when you listen to good music?"

Everybody knows that music effects our emotions if we allow it. Do you choose your CDs and playlists specifically to lift you up? Keep you feeling good? Of course you do! Why would anyone listen to terrible music?

And if music is so powerful, and the Frequency-Following Response is a sure thing, why not take it one step further: you could theoretically "program" anything you like into the music you listen to, and your mind would follow it. You would start to feel how you want to feel, and if you feel how you want to feel then your behaviour and reactions will change, and if your behaviour is different then different things will happen to you, and if different things happen to you, things that you want, then your life is changing, isnt it?

This idea is perhaps the most over-simplified, underestimated, misunderstood, and consequently dismissed concept of self empowering personal development. Most people either deny it outright or see it as a lazy way to make a profound and amazing life transformation. Most products in this field promise to do all the work for you - and the fact is: all attempts based on laziness fail, because no-one can transform your life for you. 

Misunderstanding binaural beats and expecting your life to change is like trying to build a microwave out of headphones and then dismissing microwave technology as pseudoscience.

Experimentation with binaural beats revealed the Frequency-Following Response in the late 1800s, but the medical world had already turned to pharmaceuticals, and any attempt to research "alternative" therapies was quickly branded as quackery, and abandoned. Even the resurgence of interest in the 1970s, and a publication of Scientific American featuring the research of neuro-scientist Gerald Oster (Auditory Beats In The Brain), was not enough to merit a full scale enquiry by the medical fraternity. One may hazard a guess that, once you know the formula and the correct method of use, binaural beats and isochronic tones can too easily be produced on a home PC using free software, and if the AMA allowed that, who would buy their fancy expensive anxiety pills?

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Recovering From Abandonment - when Love runs out of Time

Have you ever noticed how, in every instance of abandonment, there is always a hidden clock? 

Somewhere in there is a loop counter - a silent fuse, a secret measurement of the number of attempts you have - unknown to you until the termination of your relationship, which, unless the dynamics changed, would inevitably self-destruct after a certain time had passed.

Parent, child, relationship partner, business partner, teacher, student ... anyone you care about who walks away from you can make you feel abandoned or unwanted. 

To understand why people walk out on us, we can turn the tables, and ask: what would make you abandon someone who you feel is getting too heavy? What do you do when you feel that your happiness or survival is being threatened by someone who is slowing you down?

You may try to communicate the problem, being pro-active, assertive, but if that does'nt work, then what? You try again, or try something different, but subconsciously the loop counter begins, because you don't want anyone to take advantage of your good nature. Subconsciously, you record the number of attempts, because if this situation does not change, you will have to abandon the sinking (relation)ship, or go down with it. With each failed attempt at solving the problem, your disappointment accumulates, you begin to feel like you're wasting your time, your patience wears thin, and then one day, Love runs out of Time.

Where physical separation is inconvenient or impossible, we detach emotionally, living in the same house, but leading parallel lives.

The abandonment complex is often buried deep beneath the surface of our awareness, sometimes completely covered by emotions like depression, anger, or anxiety, or obsessions such as shopping, sex, or substance abuse. When a relationship ends, and we feel grief and loss, the reason for the depth of that emotional hurt, is the primordial fear of abandonment, which goes back way beyond childhood, its encoded on a genetic level.

For social animals like primates, being abandoned means having to fend for ourselves, which is a significant survival risk. Even the most recluse, independent individuals must rely on others for their income and survival. For humans, abandonment is one of our primordial, deepest fears.

The 10 Million Dollar Question Is - What Can We Do About It?

To come back to primates, lets say that a little monkey in a big rain forest is abandoned, not necessarily because the other monkeys don't like him, maybe the others were eaten by tigers, but he has to come up with a survival plan: Where is the food? Where are the other monkeys? He journeys across the forest to look for food and the safety of companionship, and if he sticks to that strategy he will succeed. Any time he digresses from the plan, he can so easily become lost, wondering, desperate. As long as he's focussed on his goal, there is simply no time to be depressed. Anxiety or depression comes when he is sitting procrastinating in a tree, then he feels lonely, worrying, becoming more anxious and depressed because he's not getting any closer to his goal.

The truth is that sometimes, we need to do things on our own because there is no-one around to help. Anyone who finds it easy to change a tyre on the highway will tell you that its actually not that difficult, 10 minutes and you're back on the road. But what if it happens in a dangerous area? What we don't have a lot of physical strength? How do we become strong and independent? How do we know what to do? How can we connect our desires with a strategy and a plan of action?

When I am faced with a life challenges, a fresh perspective always clarifies what I need to do, and often reveals a few options that I would otherwise have overlooked. If I were the monkey, the first thing I would do is climb to the top of a tree, and get a good view of where I am... where I would like to be... and the shortest, safest possible rout for me to get there. 

This will seem counter-intuitive to people who are anxious to start their journey and not waste any time, and it will seem difficult to people who don't know what to do, and frequently experience a catatonic sate (moments of being unable to move, just staring). For this reason I compiled a workshop in 2010 called "Getting Back On Your Feet - How to recover from grief and loss of love" - in which the metaphor of climbing a tree to get a better perspective of the forest, is applied to your real life situation. We look at all your options, and identify any unconscious behaviour that is stopping you from pursuing a more direct path to your goal - or even stopping you from seeing what your goal really is - and then we set out an instruction manual for your specific rout, to reach your goal. Finally, To help you put your plan into action, we'll look at how powerful your thoughts are in creating your mood, and develop a personal affirmation for you, that works with your individual suggestibility. This is one of my most frequently requested workshops because it helps with both sides of the coin - gives you motivation when you feel down, and relaxation when you feel stressed. 

Getting Back On Your Feet - How to recover from grief and loss of love

Workshop Synopsis:

• What Do I Really Want?
• Passion, Logic, and Goals
• How To Climb Up, One Step At A Time
• When Last Did I Relax?
• Knowing My Mind
• Choosing My Thoughts

Duration: 2 hours
Cost: R200 (includes printed notes)
Venue: The Soul Sanctuary 124 Florida Road, 
Time: 5pm, Oct 23
Bookings: 079 567 4261

The method is based on actual survival skills, which can always be applied to psychological scenarios. You will come out of this workshop with your own complete set of instructions and personal motivation material, which not only lets you navigate through your current life challenge, but also has you coming out exactly where you want to be.

The ancient Myans believed that time was divided into day and night, not only physically, but also psychologically. "Day" was a time for extroversion, when outer progress could be made in life, where as "Night" was a time for inner work, healing, planning, studying, preparing for the next "Day". Its ok if you are going through a "Night" time, and if that has been a few months or even years, then that is how long you have needed. But if you are ready now to reclaim your life and your goals, and recover from your grief and loss of love, then this is the time for you to move on. The opportunity is here.

To book now call 079 567 4261

or email info@nbsr.co.za

OCD, Anxiety, and Serotonin

Terminology: OCD = Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. The word “Disorder” can be a powerful negative suggestion for the sufferer of this condition, and may cause the person to obsess about having OCD. For this reason the author uses the terminology “Obsessive Compulsive Behaviour”, to emphasise that the condition can be corrected.

Obsession = CAN'T STOP THINKING ABOUT IT

Compulsion = HAVE TO DO IT

Obsessive compulsive behaviour is characterised by the experience of uncontrollable and intrusive thoughts which are disturbing and repetitive. In an attempt to dislodge the disturbing thought, the individual performs certain actions or tasks compulsively, repeatedly, and with a high level of intensity.

Compulsive behaviour may take on the appearance of rituals, since the number of repetitions and the thoroughness with which the task is performed has no practical value, but is performed as a way of liberating the person from his or her troubling thoughts. This behaviour is time-consuming and frustrating to the individual, and at best provides only momentary relief from the unpleasant thoughts.

Associated Behaviour

• Anxiety results from the stress of having to stay busy to avoid negative thinking
• Cigarette smoking is a frequent “self-medication” trait because of the immediate calming effect of tobacco smoke, but in the long term smoking aggravates anxiety because of the adrenaline that the body releases to metabolise the toxins from the cigarette.
• Low appetite due to anxiety causes insufficient nutrition, low blood sugar, and increased adrenaline, which then raises the anxiety level
• Insomnia results from high adrenaline levels

Obsessive compulsive individuals are usually highly intelligent, and if they learn to manage their condition, they are high achievers in life. One has only to Google, to find a list of “OCD Celebrities”, amongst whom are David Beckham, Priyanka Chopra, Leonardo Dicaprio, Jessica Alba, Justin Timberlake, and Donald Trump.

Hormonal Characteristics - Body Chemistry

Neurochemically, obsessive compulsive behaviour is characterised by dopaminergic hyperfunction in the prefrontal cortex, and serotonergic hypofunction in the basal ganglia.

In simple English: dopamine, the hormone that makes you feel rewarded for getting something right, like winning or succeeding at something, is in over-supply, and serotonin, the hormone that makes you feel peaceful and that all is well, is in short supply.

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Cancer - The Forbidden Cures

Sports Hypnosis for Muscle Memory

You've been coached, you've put in the practice hours, you nailed it in the training, but when it comes to the moment that counts, sometimes it all goes out the window!!

... Sound familiar? Do you ever wonder why, after so many years of training, you still make mistakes? It's as if you're only using a fraction of your entire muscle memory.

It's one thing to get it right in practice, but with the pressure and adrenaline of the moment, your mind is in a state of overload - it's not easy to keep your head and take the shot you practised. If your thoughts would slow down, you could focus, and your muscles would remember how you did it in the practice sessions, but your mind is racing like a mosquito full of red bull!

Sometimes it all goes right. Its like the crowd and the competitors disappear and its just you. Everything happens perfectly, like a dream, without you even needing to think about it. Your body goes into auto-pilot, and you step aside and watch. It's called "The Zone". Your mind enters a state of natural trance, where your thoughts no longer inter-fear with your body's deep conditioning.

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Anger, Anxiety, Asthma, and Your Inner Animal

The altercation is over, but your heart is still pounding. The calmness of your contained panic grips you. You try to force your movements and your breathing into slow and deliberate decorum - adrenaline still prickles through your system. You control the tremor in your voice, you sound calm even though your rib cage is vibrating and your mind is spinning, untied. With practised nonchalance, you watch your fingers for tell-tale shaking that would betray your inner rage - but you're holding it together. Meanwhile, deep in your subconscious mind, your state of calm is slowly returning like the exhausted walk back from a battle field.

Why do we fight like animals, triggered by a threat to our territory, personal space, or the right to be heard? Are'nt we supposed to be civilised? Have'nt we matured and evolved?

We may be doing an excellent job pretending to be refined. We have spectacular table etiquette, classical music, laws, constitutions, libraries, and record keeping. We hunt in Woolworths, eat with skill and elegance, fill our homes with sophistication, fashion and style, involve our emotions and happiness in the act of procreation, and we do all this with well trained practice in our specific culture.

But we can not escape the need to eat, establish a home, procreate, and defend these things and ourselves when we feel threatened. And when it comes to defending what we value, the refined mask of civilisation dissolves into thin air, and what is revealed is basically animal.

Think of your favourite animal. Do you notice how your animal never second guesses, never doubts, never wraps a banana leaf around it's waist and asks you: "Does this make me look fat?"

Your inner animal always knows what is best for you, and how to make you more comfortable and safe, because that's how life is nurtured. All animals instinctively remember this because they don't have a constant stream of distracting chatter going through their thoughts. We can not tell what animals are thinking, but we can see what they are doing, and by observing their behaviour, it is clear that animals always seem to know what they want.

When it comes to protecting their home, their personal space, or their young, animals don't hesitate. Attack is the best form of defence, and its all teeth and claws, scratching and biting, until success, surrender or death, and then...

... everything goes back to normal!!!

How do they do it?! How can animals be so calm after a fight?

Again, the behaviour tells us everything we need to know, and there can be only one explanation for calm behaviour in an animal: The event is no longer a concern. The threat is gone, the moment has passed. The animal has let go and moved on.

Since part of us is animal, we also know how to do this, and this ability to let go can be the deciding factor between those who deal with stress effectively, and those who become consumed by it. In the obsession for success, we forget why we started chasing it in the first place. This is especially evident in highly competitive careers such as law or business.

Job stress changes everything in your life because it changes you. If you are always one strand away from snapping, no-one can feel safe around you, not your spouse or your kids or your friends. Your inner animal may be fighting for you in business and making you lots of money or resolving your financial problems, but can you find your Attack Mode off switch? How much fun is it for a raging elephant's family?

Anger, anxiety, and asthma share a lot of common ground in the field of behavioural psychology:

• They are all developments of present or passed stress
• Progression causes an increasing difficulty in reversing the physical symptoms
• Physical symptoms are described as "a tight feeling in the chest"
• Physical symptoms are psychosomatic, and are therefore best addressed psychologically

Anger and anxiety management belong with wide acceptance to the field of psychology. Either a traumatic event from the past, or a present threat, activates the subconscious defence mechanisms (the inner animal) and the symptoms are anger, anxiety or both. But comparatively little is known about the psychosomatic nature of asthma.

A google search: "asthma psychosomatic" produces many pages of research, which along with my 15 years as a Yoga teacher, leave no doubt in my mind as to the best and most efficient long term treatment of asthma.

Asthma can be triggered by environmental causes such as dust, or altitude (air pressure). A psychosomatic asthma attack is triggered by an emotional stress or fear, or a sudden shock, the reaction of which is the narrowing of the bronchioles, which limits air flow into the lungs. Certain Yoga breathing techniques (Pranayama) can be practised for calming the mind and strengthening the lungs. The effect of practising these techniques during an asthma attack are immediate and cumulative, i.e. the more you practice the breathing techniques, the greater the benefits.

Pranayama:

• Calms your mind and gives you the mental tools to remain calm emotionally through any stressful situation
• When your mind is calm, the parasympathetic nervous system recovers the symptoms of your subconscious defence mechanisms (anxiety, anger) and returns your system to a state of balanced equilibrium, or homoeostasis
• With homoeostasis returning, the bronchial muscles (lungs) relax and return to their normal function: plenty air to the lungs!

If stress is the common cause, then stress therapy is the most efficient treatment. NBSR Hypnotherapy has been providing solutions for job and life stress since 2005, and runs regular workshops to address a variety of problem areas and personal development. If you suffer from asthma, or if you know someone who can't find their "Off" switch, click this link now to find out more about the NBSR Workshop series. The next workshop "NBSR Anger & Anxiety Management Method" provides you with an easy to learn 3 step process for overcoming anger anxiety, and asthma, and switching on your inner peace.