Brainwaves
Anxiety and
stress are growing problems in today's society, where stimulation is non-stop,
work hours are long, vacations are rare and there is very little physical
activity to vent the adrenalin produced during stressful situations. This can
result in an almost constant state of overarousal, where
the brain is too active and will not allow relaxation and the normal release of
tension that is required for a healthy lifestyle. http://www.transparentcorp.com/products/np/learnmore/stress.php)
Your brain
is made up of billions of neurons, which use electricity to communicate with
each other. The combination of millions
of neurons sending signals at once produces an enormous amount of electrical
activity in the brain, which can be detected using medical equipment. . .The
combination of electrical activity of the brain is commonly called a brainwave
pattern, because of its cyclic, ‘wave-like’ nature.
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These brainwaves are known as:
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Beta emitted when we are consciously
alert, or we feel agitated, tense, afraid, with frequencies ranging from 13
to 60 pulses per second in the Hertz scale.
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2
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Alpha when we are in a state of physical
and mental relaxation, although aware of what is happening around us, its
frequency are around 7 to 13 pulses per second.
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3
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Theta more or less 4 to 7 pulses, it is a
state of somnolence with reduced consciousness.
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4
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Delta when there is unconsciousness, deep
sleep or catalepsy, emitting between 0.1 and 4 cycles per second.
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Generally we are accustomed to using the beta brain rhythm. When we diminish
the brain rhythm to alpha, we put ourselves in the ideal condition to learn new
information, keep fact, data, perform elaborate tasks, learn languages, analyze
complex situations. Meditation, relaxation exercises, and activities that
enable the sense of calm, also enable this alpha state. According to
neuroscientists, analyzing electroencephalograms of people submitted to tests
in order to research the effect of
decreasing the brain rhythm, the attentive relaxation or the deep relaxation,
produce significant increases in the levels of beta-endorphin, norepinephrine
and dopamine, linked to feelings of enlarged mental clarity and formation of
remembrances, and that this effect lasts for hours and even days. of decreasing
the brain rhythm, the attentive relaxation or the deep relaxation, produce
significant increases in the levels of beta-endorphin
How
to Quiet the Brain
“Be
Still and Know that I am God.”
FAITH
IN GOD, LIFE AND GOODNESS
Healing is learning to trust
life. (Jeanne Achterberg)
Perhaps life is a journey toward
acceptance, toward the belief that everything that happens to us happens for a
reason. The hardships and upheavals, the
losses and heartaches have a purpose in the small or grand scheme of
things. Either we conclude that there is
order and purpose in the universe, or we concede that all is a meaningless
accident. (82)
To fully thrive,
we must not only eliminate the stressors but also actively seek joyful, loving,
more fulfilling lives that stimulate growth processes. (Lipton117)
We live in a “Get set” world and an increasing body of
research suggests that our hyper-vigilant lifestyle is severely impacting the
health of our bodies. (Lipton, p. 121)
1.
Forgiveness
(Why we Forgive)
2.
Meditation
(Observation, Objectivity, Openness, Stillness)
3.
Good Music (words and rhythm)
4.
Writing (Writing
to Heal the Soul. Susan Zimmermann,
2002.)
5.
Working with Mother Earth—(gardening, hiking,
just being in Mother Nature and listening)
6.
Friendships (relationships over tasks)
7.
Humor and Laughter
Forgiveness
We can change our internal narrative!
We can’t escape our past.
We can grow from it. We can grow
beyond it. (Zimmermann, 63)
I give thanks for my teachers. I am stronger in the places where I’ve been
wounded. (Thoele)
To the extent that you believe that the past determines the
future, you will tend to allow yourself to be a passive vessel that does not
actively change its course. . .I think that the events of childhood are
overrated; in fact, I think past history in general is overrated. . .the
promissory note that Freud and his followers wrote about childhood events
determining the course of adult lives is worthless. I stress all this because I believe that many
of my readers are unduly embittered about their past, and unduly passive about
their future, because they believe that untoward events in their personal
history have imprisoned them. (Seligman, 68)
Dwelling on trespass and the exp4ession of anger produces
more cardiac disease and more anger.
(Seligman, 69)
Insufficient appreciation and savoring of the good events in
your past and overemphasis of the bad ones are the two culprits that undermine
serenity, contentment and satisfaction.
There are two ways of bringing these feelings about the past well into
the region of contentment and satisfaction.
Gratitude amplifies the savoring and appreciation of the good events
gone by and rewriting history by forgiveness loosens the power of the bad events
to embitter (and actually can transform bad memories into goode one.
A positive mood jolts us into an entirely different way of
thinking from a negative mood (Seligman,
38)
Woman’s
Book of Soul Sue Patton Thoele 246-247
People who are the biggest
detractors in our lives are often also our most valuable teachers. Out of the wounds inflicted by these severe
critics, harsh teachers, and wielders of heavy and harmful blows can come much
of our compawssion and the majority of our strength. Without question, given a preview of coming
detractions, we probably wouldn’t have invited such folks, or the resultant
pain, into our lives. Nonetheless, we
are indebted to them for the heart-growing, soul-tempering wisdom derived from
our relationship with them. Gracing
these severe teachers with the blessing of gratitude frees us, and them, to
move on to softer and sweeter experiences.
A wonderful way to say good-bye and sever the connection spiritually is
to invite our detractors to dinner, in meditation. Before the event takes place, make careful
preparations. First and foremost, decide
how you will protect yourself while with these people.. Then compile your guest list, who will be
seated where and by whom? What will be
served? How will the table look? When the preparations are finished, invite
them to enter and take their seats.
Observe these persons who have caused you pain, and carefully make an inventory
of the gifts that they (no doubt, inadvertently) have give you in terms of soul
growth and personality polishing. Thank
each one of them for their contribution to your progression. If you can’t actually feel gratitude, ask the
Beloved [God] to open your heart so that gratitude toward them can seep into
your soul. Believe me, I am personally
aware that this is not an easy dinner to hostess. Although I do feel thankful for lessons
learned from her, I’ve not yet been able to invite one of my family members to
share my table. But I intend to do so
one day for she taught me much, and I
don’t want to drag her energy with me throughout eternity.
REACH
(from Seligman 79-80)
R
stand for recall the hurt, in as objective a way as you can. Do not think of the other person as
evil. Do not wallow in self-pity. Take deep, slow and calming breaths as you
visualize the event.
E
stands for empathize. Try to understand
from the perpetrator’s point of view why this person hurt you. This is not easy but make up a plausible
story that the transgressor might tell if challenged to explain. (Remember the situation a person finds
himself in, and not his underlying personality, can lead to hurting.
A
stands for giving the altruistic gift of forgiveness. Recall when you did something wrong, felt
guilty and were forgiven. This is a gift
to you. As you feel grateful for this
gift, extend the forgiveness.
C
stands for commit yourself to forgive publicly—at least to one person
H stand for Hold on to forgiveness
Terry Warner’s, “Why We Forgive”—the only
way to peace.
Meditation
Fragrantheart.com (free guided meditations from 2-10 minutes)
Whatever
your personal situation right now, meditation can help you to feel greater calm
and inner peace. Instead of using your outer will to transform your life,
meditation helps you to access your "inner voice" or guide. I like to
refer to this 'inner voice" as your Heart. Your Heart knows what's correct
for you, but its voice is often drowned out by the confusion reigning in the
mind. Meditation helps quiet the mind so you can listen to your Heart. By listening
to our Heart we can experience greater peace and better health which in turn
bring us more fulfilled and balanced lives.
Meditation
is an unfolding process in becoming more conscious. Conscious means that a person can remain
aware and remain centered without becoming overwhelmed to the triggers from the
past that have created discord within oneself.
Certainly in a meditation practice consciousness will grow in
spirals. There will be times of deep
inner stillness, followed by times of old wounds an issues from childhood,
family problems and unresolved relationships coming to the surface. People may get discouraged at this point and
feel that meditation is not working for them.
They want their sitting their sitting practice to be filled with bliss. Memories and feelings in our bodies will
surface during meditation and they need to be welcomed, not denied nor pushed
away.. .Accept and allow whatever comes to the surface during meditation.
You might be wondering how an intervention
that involved more reflection on the internal world could help someone who
already was troubled by anxiety and obsessions. Shouldn’t Sandy be helped to “get on with
life” rather than focusing even more deeply on her mind? In fact, this approach—helping Sandy reframe
her symptoms as part of a normal but overactive brain circuit and teaching her
mindful awareness strategies—works in two ways.
It calms the patient and helps to alleviate symptoms, and it also begins
a process of bolstering the self-regulatory circuits in the brain. (Siegel,
246)
Writing:
“Give
sorrow words.” Shakespeare
There is now extensive research that shows
writing—the simple act of putting down your deepest thoughts and feelings on
paper—is one of the most powerful and effective means to ease and ultimately
heal sorrow. The act of writing brings a
structure and order to the chaos of grief.
It taps into the healing power of your own unconscious. By giving voice to fears, anger, and despair,
be letting go of old dreams and hopes, our self-healing powers come to
play. The soul knows what it needs to
heal. Through writing, it will lead you
where you need to go.
I was not a writer. I had no idea where the writing would
lead. All I knew was that I had to do
it. An inner voice badgered me, insisting
that I slow down and reflect.” (13)
Writing allows you to access your wider
mind, a wiser, more encompassing place deep within . Your story will unfold and through the
writing of it, you will honor and embrace your sorrows, grow from them and
arrive at a place where life is more full and more joyful than you ever thought
possible.
“Isak Dinesen once said, ‘Any sorrow can be
borne, if you can turn it into a story.’ Through writing, we discover
unexpected particles of truth that light our path; we move through our grief
mindfully, in a way that allows us to comprehend and integrate the experience
into our lives. By going deep within to
a place of honesty untainted by society’s ‘shoulds,” our vision is
enlarged. We gain perspective on our
lives.” (26)
Writing is the most profound way of
codifying your thoughts, the best way of learning from yourself who you are and
what you believe. (Warren Bennis, On
Becoming a Leader)\
Poetry helps us relieve cancer, recast
sadness, retrieve appreciation. 91
Writing
exercises:
(Always
write as quickly as you hand will
allow. Don’t be concerned about spelling
or grammar. Don’t worry if you’re not
saying it exactly right.
Write about your deepest thoughts and
feelings
Write in a private place.
Write frequently—daily if possible
Write for yourself, not an audience (18)
Topics you could write: A turning point. The hardest time of my life and what I
learned from it. One of my heroes is and
why. Poetry about any dark emotion—find
something in the world to represent the darkness
Humor, smiles and laughter
POW close to starvation received an old deflated
football. At first everyone moaned, then
everyone laughed. . “It was a high point.
All the men got into it. It
raised morale enormously. In all my
years in prison camp, that competition was one of the best moments. We laughed so hard. We forgot where we were. We were just a bunch of guys horsing around
In Anatomy of an Illness, Norman Cousins talks about the
healing power of laughter as he had developed a course of “humor treatment. He
believed that laughter and good emotions would allow his body to heal
itself. It did. “I have learned never to underestimate the
capacity of the human mind and body to regenerate—even when the prospects seem
most wretched. (68)
Two groups of four-year-olds were asked to spend30
seconds remembering ‘something that happened that made you feel so happy you
just wanted to jump up an d down,’ or ‘so happy that you just wanted to sit and
smile. Then all the children were given
a learning task about different shapes, and both groups did better than the
four year olds who got neutral instruction (Seligman)
Two groups
Gratitude
Thankfulness helps heal our scars from the inside out and
unveil the gifts of wisdom and compassion gleaned from receiving them.
Service
Happiness
comes from the exercise of kindness more readily that it does from having fun. (Seligman, 9)
It
appears that our first instinct [in our brain] is for idleness, but when given
an excuse to be busy (even a meaningless one), we’re liable to act on it and
consequently feel happier.
Mother
Earth
The second highest [brain wave] is the alpha wave which is
what you’re experiencing when you have just completed a task and you sit down
to rest. When you sit down to reflect or meditate you start experiencing alpha
waves. Taking a leisurely stroll through a garden also induces this state.
Sleep
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