Neurofeedback to Fortify One's Mental State

“Neurofeedback is direct training of brain function, by which the brain learns to function more efficiently. We observe the brain in action from moment to moment. We show that information back to the person and we reward the brain for changing its own activity to more appropriate patterns. This is a gradual learning process. It applies to any aspect of brain function that we can measure. Neurofeedback is also called EEG biofeedback, because it is based on electrical brain activity, the electroencephalogram, or EEG. Neurofeedback is training in self-regulation. It is simply biofeedback applied to the brain directly. Self-regulation is a necessary part of good brain function. Self-regulation training allows the system (the central nervous system) to function better.”

— Sig Othmer

The Concept

In this workshop we will use neurofeedback (NF) to balance and fortify participants in preparation for the deep-state, Ayahuasca healing work offered by Percy Garcia. Each participant will be offered daily NF sessions using techniques developed by the Sig and Sue Othmer of the EEG Institute. The goal of this training is to achieve mental calming, increase mental flexibility, enhance memory recall, and improve delineation of mental and physical boundaries.

The Othmers identify electrical signals at various locations on the scalp as reflecting certain mental functions. We'll exercise the mental functions associated with the three pairs shown above:

• T3 and T4, whose interactivity reflects one's arousal and state of excitability.
• T3 and Fp1, whose interactivity reflects impulse control, planning and organization, short term memory, and mental calming.
• T4 and P4, whose interactivity reflects physical calmness, the awareness of one's body in space, and the awareness of others.

The goal is for participants to noticeably enhance these functions over the course of three days of neurofeedback. The results can be both subtle and dramatic because they entail changes in how we perceive the world and conceive of ourselves. It could be described as a change in the way your world is illuminated. The results can also be long lasting. Neurofeedback is an amazing tool that is only now being developed as a means to raise one's consciousness.

The Hardware and Software

Neurofeedback requires a computer, sensors to detect extremely weak brain waves, and special circuitry to amplify these signals. This highly sensitive electrical amplifier is connected to leads attached to pairs of scalp sites and the strength of the electrical field at these sites is displayed on a computer screen. The computer is used only to display the brain's activity, the NF is entirely passive in the sense that there is no active electrical stimulus being administered.

Participants individually spend from between 20 to 40 minutes watching engaging brain-wave modulated patterns on the computer screen while listening to soothing, even tempered music that is modulated by the listener's brain wave forms. This computer generated feedback encourages them to modify their brain's electrical activity in a manner that is individually tailored to produce what that person identifies as a most comfortable or subjectively improved mental state. It is important to note that you do not use your intellect when doing NF, you do not willfully try to effect anything because the things that are being adjusted lie beneath your thought processes. In fact, both conscious thoughts and language tend to interrupt the process.

NF works because your mind employs processes of which you are not aware in order to facilitate your perception of and response to your environment. The visual and auditory feedback that the computer system provides is sensed by these underlying processes which respond without notifying you or asking your permission. And it is the adjustment of these more intuitive systems that leads to fundamental shifts in how you experience yourself and the world.

The Schedule

There will be at least one day between NF sessions to allow participants' systems to return to equilibrium and to allow for any latent changes to manifest. Session leaders will maintain close contact with participants between sessions to track their progress and to help participants understand and integrate changes.

Over the three days of the NF training, participants will also be engaged in individual and group exercises, gentle yoga-based physical exercises, and a light diet in preparation for the subsequent deep state sessions. NF sessions will conclude as the workshop moves on to the ayahuasca-based deep-state work.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neurofeedback
http://www.eeginfo.com/