The brain generates tiny electrical pulses as thoughts traverse the labyrinth of the mind. The physical
conduits of these thoughts are the millions of nerve cells or neurons in the brain. Just as radio signals, in
order to make a comprehensible message, are beamed out on radio waves, a band of signals within a
defined frequency, so the brain's activity also occurs in waves. Brain waves can be measured on an
electro-encephalograph machine (which is normally abbreviated to E.E.G. Machine). By attaching
sensitive electrodes to the scalp, it is possible to measure accurately the type of brain wave that a subject
is producing. These waves are usually expressed in the number of cycles per second (or C.P.S.) The brain
produces 4 main frequencies:
Beta level brain waves - range 13-25 C.P.S. (cycles per second) Alpha level brain waves - range 8-12 C.P.
S. Theta level brain waves - range 4-7 C.P.S. Delta level brain waves - range 0.5-3 C.P.S.
The linking of left and right brain activities is important in producing a shift from learning to accelerated
learning. Yet our society is very 'beta orientated'. We are busy thinking about the problem in hand, but
don't leave ourselves sufficiently open to I other influences, which would help us memorize faster and
make the sort of less expected connections that we call creative thinking.
In beta you don't see the wood for concentrating on the trees. But learn to relax, increase the proportion of
the alpha and ideally theta brain waves, and you have created the conditions where you may begin to see
the whole picture. 'Alpha' is a natural and receptive state of mind, that we can all attain through special
techniques . They principally involve simple and pleasant relaxation exercises and
listening to certain types of music.
The theta brain wave pattern is especially interesting. It occurs spontaneously to most of us in the twilight
state between being fully awake and falling asleep. Arthur Koestler called it `reverie'. This drowsy stage
is associated with fleeting semi-hallucinatory images. Thousands of artistic and literary inspirations and
scientific inventions have been credited to this state, a sort of freeform thinking that puts you in touch
with your subconscious.
Many psychologists would agree it is a reasonable hypothesis that, when left/right brain symbiosis takes
place, conscious and subconscious are also united. The proportion of theta brain waves becomes much
higher than normal. This is the moment when logical left brain activity declines. The left brain, which
normally acts as a filter or censor to the subconscious, drops its guard, and allows the more intuitive,
emotional and creative depths of the right brain to become increasingly influential.
If the hypothesis is true, then do women, popularly characterised as more intuitive, reach a walking theta
state more often than men; and can this be associated with the fact that their left/right brain link, the
corpus callosum, is larger and richer in connective capabilities than men's? We do not yet know, but it is a
fascinating area for future research.
At the University of Colorado Medical Centre and at the Biofeedback Centre in Denver, Dr. Thomas
Budzyski has found that, when people were trained to achieve and maintain theta brain waves using biofeedback techniques, they did indeed learn much faster. Moreover, many emotional and attitudinal
problems were solved at the same time.
For example, in a theta state, suggestions that racial prejudice is wrong were well accepted. Suggestions
to overweight people to follow a sensible eating pattern were accepted and subsequently complied with,
and insomnia and drinking problems were successfully tackled.
Some time ago a New York advertising agency was asked to produce a T.V. Commercial to combat racial
prejudice. They produced two. The first used a carefully built up rational argument. The second was a
highly emotional film featuring attractive young black children and using many subconscious but positive
appeals for fairness.
The logical T.V. Commercial actually intensified the degree of racial prejudice. The subjects felt
themselves threatened as they realized they could not give an equally dispassionate and rational counter
argument. Consequently the only possible response was an aggressive defence involving an increased
emotional commitment to their original attitude.
The second commercial however, worked. Emotion laden appeals went beyond the conscious, the
intellectual objections, and created a new positive image at the subconscious level that changed the
subject's entire personal response, so no conflict or threat was aroused. Can intelligence be increased?
Whilst it is certainly an oversimplification to relate intelligence to brain capacity it is, however,
interesting to relate three statements: The average I.Q. is 100 The genius-level is 160 The average human
probably uses 4% of his potential brain power
If that average human could learn to use not 4% of his brain but a still minimal 7% of his brain, could he
attain genius level?
No comments:
Post a Comment