Reverse Thinking

Binaural beats

This is the second in the series on binaural beats - audio programs that change brain states. The first one was called Brain wave.

The outcome is a change in physical or emotional state combined with a change in consciousness. That's one of our major goals in Reverse Therapy.

Using them we can switch off worries, connect to Bodymind, create deep trance, or trigger endorphin release.

Binaural beat programs work by entraining the brain to slow down brain wave frequencies. The everyday state - the one in which Headmind is most active - is Beta. The next slowest wave is Alpha (the state that occurs when we are just nodding off to sleep, or are in trance). Beyond that we have the Theta state, which occurs in deep sleep or profound meditation.

Theta waves were first studied in the 1970s and it was noticed that using equipment to produce Theta wave states produced serenity, reduced the need for sleep, cut out anxiety, boosted the immune system, enhanced creativity, and helped integrate the emotions. In addition, it is impossible to worry or get anxious so long as the Theta state is in operation.

Interestingly, Japanese research, which studied brain scans of Zen monks - showed that experienced meditators can actually switch down to the Theta wave in minutes.

Now binaural programs are able to create the same benefits without the need to spend years practicing meditation.

I have been testing two of these programs and recommended them on Brain wave.

If you want to try them for yourself then use the links below.

'Deeper and Deeper' CD Download

'Endorphin Release' CD Download

Endorphin rush

I have been arguing for some time now that any worthwhile treatment for Anxiety, Depression and Stress-related illnesses needs to include a program for raising Endorphins.

I have written about how we do that in Reverse Therapy in the free book we released last year.

Endorphins are protein chains (neuropeptides) that are released by the Hypothalamus area in the brain. They act in the same way as morphine except that endorphins are 18-50 times stronger.

An endorphin rush can occur when:

• You do vigorous exercise ('runner's high').
• You laugh
• You listen to music
• You dance
• You eat chocolate (addictive!)
• You eat chilis (also addictive!)
• You practice yoga, tai chi, qi gung, etc
• You have a massage
• You do something creative or inspiring
• You achieve something important
• You share affection
• You have an orgasm
• You cut yourself (which is why self-harming is addictive)
• As well as lots of other ways that are personal to you

Bodymind uses endorphins for several purposes. Firstly. to boost energy when you need it; secondly to reduce pain from injury; and thirdly, to signal that you are doing something worthwhile or enjoyable and to encourage you to do more of the same.

Next up I will be writing about how binaural beat programs can boost endorphin levels by changing brain wave patterns to the alpha and theta frequencies.

Please let me know if you have your own tips for creating an endorphin rush and, if I get enough suggestions, I will post them up on this site.

Image by AfferentRapture [Dave] 

Brain wave

I have been experimenting with Binaural Beat programs, both for myself and with my clients in Reverse Therapy.

I have been very impressed by the ones I have seen so far. They are an effective way to change brain waves and create deep meditation, lucid dreaming, trance, creativity, expanded consciousness - and many other states too.

They are also a powerful way to switch off from worries and obsessions, as well as other types of Ineffective Thinking.

Finally, they are a short-cut to connecting people to Bodymind. In fact, the last time I felt so enraptured and connected to my body was when I used a Flotation tank a few years ago.

Binuaral beats work by transmitting sound waves at different frequencies to each ear. When the brain notices the difference between the two sounds it synchronises them by creating a third 'beat' (or pulse) which only you can hear.

Listening to a binaural beats CD is a little weird at first. The sounds are like bubbling water, chimes, vibrations, and deep tones. But, in a very short period of time I was in a state very similar to deep trance, feeling extremely relaxed and enjoying the dream-like images my brain sent up.

I have been using two programs this week - one that works on stress reduction, and the other on promoting endorphin release. I will write more about the second one this weekend.

Some binaural beat programs are extremely expensive (anything up to £1400 for some programs).

The discounted prices on the two CDs I am using are very reasonable indeed - $10 and $20. I will be experimenting with other programs and - if they pass the test - then I will endorse them here.

If you would like to buy the Stress Relief CD then click here

If you would like to buy the Endorphin Release product then click here.

Image by uncwshelley

Taking ownership

Yesterday I wrote about how giving up responsibility turns us into victims.

Today I want to write about how you can become the person you were meant to be. The person ONLY YOU can be.

The first step is to take ownership for who you are and what you do. That means accepting that the life you are living right now (or not living) was 'chosen' by you. Not your parents, not society, not God - You. The word 'chosen' is in quotes because, for most of us, inauthentic life-styles were something we fell into. For example, I once fell into a yuppie lifestyle. For nine years I worked in banking and worried about wealth, status, driving the right car, wearing the right clothes and knowing the right people. I 'fell' into it because it seemed the 'right', 'normal' thing to do. And also because I was lazy - living by the truth about myself was not only scary but looked like  hard work.

If your life is boring that's because boredom is your default option. Meaning that, at some level, a boring life is seen as safer than an authentic one. It is also your comfort zone - maintained through apathy, inertia and fear. The same applies to lives that are empty, conformist, shallow, or victimizing.

When you have accepted that you have a choice the second step is to take back your Personal Power.

Then you learn how to be a Self-actualizer

Finally you need to find a way to Release Your Personal Genius.

If Vincent Van Gogh can do it then so can you.

Here was a man who wasted the first few years of his life trying to be a respectable bourgeois to please his father (a Minister of the Church). First he tried to be an art dealer, then a teacher, then a pastor. He failed at them all.

Finally, he took his brother's advice and became a painter.

Take a look at the picture below. Do you see what I see?

I see an intense, sharp, almost mystical, encounter with the irises. They are ablaze with color and express the mystery of being. We instantly recognize it as a Van Gogh. No other painter would have used that combination of colors or that style of drawing. Van Gogh's style is completely his own because it expresses his universe.

"If you hear a voice within you say "you cannot paint," then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced."

"One must work and dare if one really wants to live."

"What would life be if we had no courage to attempt anything?"

"As we advance in life it becomes more and more difficult, but in fighting the difficulties the
inmost strength of the heart is developed."

Vincent Van Gogh 1853-1890

Image of Van Gogh Self-Portrait By Mike Licht

Image of Van Gogh's Irises by *clairity*

How to be a victim

This is the last in the series based on The Effective Thinking Skills Test.

This article discusses your answers to questions 3, 7, 11, 18 and 27.

Those questions tested you for your ability to take responsibility for what happens to you - and to take ownership for your misfortunes too. And for your readiness to build the life you really want.

Negative thoughts that drain your personal power

People who see themselves as victims have thoughts like these ones:

• 'I am unlucky.'
• 'If only I were sexy, talented, rich, successful...etc.'
• 'I can't help it.'
• 'I am useless, stupid, pathetic...a complete failure.'
• 'Other people get the breaks but me - never!'
• 'I don't know. You decide.'
• 'First that happens and now this! I just can't stand it anymore!'
• 'I can't do that! X wouldn't like it!'
• 'When I win the lottery...'
• 'Yes...but...' (usually repeated as a knee-jerk reaction to helpful suggestions made by others).

Ineffective thinking leads to stress-related illness

People who think like this are many times more likely to get stressed, depressed, addicted or anxious. They are also more likely to get non-specific illnesses like Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Colitis, Stomach Ulcer or a Functional Pain condition like Fibromyalgia.

And when that happens they generally end up in front of Doctors and Psychologists who give them some jargon (e.g. 'Chronic Fatigue Syndrome'), pills to take, and lengthy psychotherapy which assumes that their parents must have fucked them up. Not all Doctors, Psychologists and Therapists work like that but, I am afraid, the majority do. And that just encourages dependency. And more entrapment. And more illness.

The Santa Claus Syndrome

People who have given their personal power away spend their lives waiting for Santa Claus to come and make everything better. Or else it is Mr. Right, God, the Government, the Revolution, the Lottery Announcer, The Wizard of Oz. As life passes them by they wonder about the past and 'what might have been', fantasize about that paradise island, and wait for someone else to come along and wave a magic wand.

The first step to freedom

The first step towards self-empowerment lies in your accepting certain propositions about yourself (note that I avoid calling them 'truths' - they are merely useful assumptions).

1. The person I am today is not bound by things have happened to me in the past

2. No one else but me can change who I am and what I do

3. I have gifts, talents, goals - and people that I care about - which await my attention

4. I make my own luck

5. Other peoples' good fortune, success - and happiness - encourages me to do more for myself and the people I care about.

6. Being unwell or unhappy are signs that I need to look harder at my real needs.

7. Other people can perhaps help and support me but only I can solve my problems.

8. Although I can't control what happens to me I can influence what happens next

9. I don't need money, good looks or status in order to be happy

10. The first, small, step starts today.

Tomorrow I am going to write more about how we can break out of conformity, deadness, illness, boredom, and passive suffering. And power up towards being the person we were meant to be.

I am also going to use Vincent Van Gogh as an example of how that can happen.

If you have a personal story to share about your own journey from unhappiness to self-fulfilment then please email me with it. I would like to put up a selection of great stories right here on this blog!

                               "In dreams begin responsibility."

                                W. B. Yeats.

Image of Van Gogh Self-Portrait by snickclunk

The end of thinking

Tomorrow I am posting up the last in the series on The Effective Thinking Skills Test.

If you haven't taken that test yet you can do it here.

If you want to read previous articles in this series then here are the links:

Who cares what people think?

Effective thinking.

Reclaiming your personal power.

Reverse personality.

Emotional intelligence.

Do you run your mind or does your mind run you?

Tomorrow I will be writing about Personal ownership and self-responsibility.

Instead of wasting your time listening to your Head telling you that you are a 'victim', that other people are 'better' than you, that things happen to you by 'accident', that you need 'expert' help to run your life, or that you are a 'failure' if you are not wealthy, famous or a sex symbol - I want to show you how you can get your life back the way you want it to be.

I have enjoyed writing this series. Like St. Augustine, I often don't know what I think about anything until I have seen what I have written. So now I 'know' more than I did before about how we should be organising our minds.

Let me know if there are any other tests you'd like me to design.

Let me also know if you would like me to write another series on a different subject. I can't promise I will but I will consider all suggestions seriously.

    'Watch your thoughts, for they become words.
     Watch your words, for they become actions.
     Watch your actions, for they become habits.
     Watch your habits, for they become character.
     Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.'

Image of the Buddha at Night by MR+G

The Emotoscope

The Emotoscope is a really neat test on your moods that you can take right now.

It was developed by Josh, who also runs a stimulating blog on emotional intelligence - 6seconds. Full credit to him.

It works by matching your choices from different types of facial expression, to your likely emotional state in the present moment.

The Emotoscope tells me that Bodymind must be creating cellular memories in the Limbic system in order to 'scan' human facial expressions and match them to your own emotions.

Readers may recall that emotions are guides to action that tell you what to do next when you notice a change in the behavior of people around you (e.g., love them a little more, fight them, or walk away).

That mechanism could also work in reverse by tracking back your current emotional state to the faces linked with it.

The more we understand about the relationship between facial recognition, the brain and the emotions, then the more Emotionally Intelligent we are going to become.

Image by MegElizabeth_

The power of art

I am in Florence for four days this week, revisiting the place once more.

This is my favourite city.

Whenever I come here I am overwhelmed by the depth, power and emotional energy of Florentine artists.

The first picture is by Giotto and shows the followers weeping for St Francis. When I saw it close up I cried too.

The one on the left is the David by Donatello, who not only shows him as a beautiful youth, but also as serene and confident; utterly sure of himself. Not only do I find him sexy, but he is heroic too.

I need to keep reminding myself that one of the best ways to develop Bodymind intelligence is to keep coming to places like this and spend an hour or two looking at what Genius has produced.

Do you run your mind or does your mind run you?

This is the latest is a series I am writing about the Effective Thinking Skills Test. This one relates to your answers to questions 5, 7, 15, 16 and 24.

On those questions you were tested for whether you worry or not. Worry is probably the single most destructive form of ineffective thinking. It is usually a sign that Headmind has taken you over. Like a badly trained dog it has got used to the idea that every time it barks you will come running. I have written about how to eliminate worry before. I would recommend you read that blog alongside this one.

There is also an excellent blog by Jason over on his self-development website. It's called How to Make Your Conscious Mind Stop Sabotaging You

Today, I want to add to the important point Jason makes about teaching Headmind/Conscious Mind to shut up by showing you a technique through which you can teach it to do just that.

When you let your dog see that barking doesn't work, it learns to be quiet. When you 'teach' Headmind that its worries bore you and that you are no longer paying attention it will, eventually, give them up.

By the way, one of the most useful things about meditation, prayer, affirmation, tai chi, breathing techniques, etc. is that they switch attention away from the yada-yada-yada that Headmind creates when it worries. But immediately doing something physically vigorous that raises endorphins and absorbs your complete attention will have the same result.

This is a process I adapted from NLP for use in Reverse Therapy.

You can use it as often as you want.In fact, doing it when you are not worrying is even more effective than doing it when you are. That's because you are reprogramming Headmind before it goes off on one....

1. Identify a moment when you were doing something that was the opposite of worry. That could be a moment when you were glowing with pride over one of your achievements, despite the worries you had about it before; or a moment when you were 'just getting on with it' - focusing on the actions to take rather than the 'disaster movie'. In fact it could relate to any memory of a time when you were serene, happy, empowered, decisive or confident.

2. Look carefully at the 'you' in that memory. Register the way you look, the expression on your face, the way you speak and the way you hold yourself. 'Go inside' this person and check out how it feels to be you when you are this way.

(You can take several self-memories and 'merge' them into each other to create a very powerful self-image if you want more oomph).

3. Now (briefly, very briefly) look at the 'you' that listens to worry tapes. You may notice that you are confused, anxious, or 'stuck' etc.

4. Now use the process I taught you on my Stop Worrying Blog. Identify the 'worry script' and use the 'voice of an idiot to render it laughable. Make sure you are laughing at it otherwise it won't work. You may need to keep trying out different idiots until you do laugh. (Personally, I use Alan Partridge's voice).

5. Now run the worry script for just ONE second in that idiot voice. As SOON as it comes on either

6. Jump up or walk forward quickly, clapping your hands or (if you are with people) press the 'Stop' button on the tape recorder in your head.

7. Look at the Empowered self-image side by side with the other one. Go 'into' the body of that person and connect to the feeling of serenity, empowerment, etc.

8. Look down at the worrier and watch it as it goes up in a puff of smoke, shrinks rapidly and disappears, or flies to-and-fro in the air like a balloon that has been released (this is my favourite - my 'balloon' always makes that farting noise that balloons make).

9. Stay in the real 'You' for a moment. From that position immediately decide on what you are going to do next to obliterate the worry. The ideal action to take is anything at all that raises endorphin levels quickly. For more advice on endorphin release click here.

Enjoy the brainwash!

 

Eight random things about me

My old friend Mark challenges me on his blog to come up with 8 random facts about me.

So here goes:

1. I have very small ears and hands. As a boy it was frequently assumed that I was a girl.

2. The job I would most have preferred to do is professional gambler. I play Poker an awful lot.

3. I trained in speed-reading when I was 12. I can read 1200 words a minute.

4. I can't eat marmite, margarine or semolina. My (working-class) parents would run out of house-keeping money on Wednesdays and for two days we only had that to eat.

5. I used to be the manager of a Rock group - ERA - in the 1980s. The poster is at top right.

6. I used to do Astrology charts a lot but lost interest when the forecast date of my death - 5th January 2004 - turned out to be wrong.

7. I have been told that my totem is a Crow. Apparently, crows are dark, wise, wild and associated with the underworld.

8. I am half English, 1/4 Irish and 1/4 Italian. My (Irish) great-grandfather was a Beefeater in the Tower of London.