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When the Mind is Stronger than the Brain

Something terrible happened to Susan a few years before we met.

A random intruder shot her and left her for dead.

A bullet lodged deep within her chest. Emergency responders rushed her to the operating room and  soon surgeons were struggling to control the bleeding in her collapsed lung.

At first no one saw the other wound.

Then an O.R. nurse  noticed a small pool of blood near Susan’s head. A portable x-ray revealed a second bullet had pierced her skull and destroyed a significant amount of Susan’s brain.

Emergency surgery saved her life, but Susan was now blind. Her brain’s speech center had been devastated, and her motor function was severely impaired. A large piece of her skull was gone.

Susan couldn’t see. She couldn’t talk. She couldn’t walk.

However, after surgery, Susan soon regained consciousness. She couldn’t see or talk, but she could hear. So she was able to understand her neurosurgeon’s words when he stood at her hospital bedside and told her about the extent of her brain injury.

The news was devastating

The doctor explained that her brain was permanently damaged. Susan was told she would never see again; told she would have difficulty speaking for the rest of her life, told she would need to make arrangements for long-term nursing care and because  she had been recently widowed, she would need to find full-time childcare for her 2-year-old son.

That was the bad news. The good news?

Susan would be severley disabled, but she would survive.

Perhaps – with years of physical therapy – her doctors said she might be able to learn to walk again. But, no promises.

She couldn’t speak, but one thought echoed through Susan’s mind: NO.

Why am I telling you this sad story?

Because by the time we met, Susan could walk.

She could talk.

And she could see. 

In fact if you met Susan today, you would never guess that once upon a time, she had suffered permanent brain damage.

In case you’re doubting the seriousness of her brain injury, let me assure you Susan wasn’t exaggerating. The crime and subsequent trial had been big news in her part of the country. Before we met, I happened to read an in-depth article about the incident. Her recovery is nothing less than a medical miracle.

Yet Susan doesn’t consider herself special.

She’s not a motivational speaker. She hasn’t written a book or appeared on Oprah. She’s not famous; she’s a very private person, in fact ‘Susan’ isn’t her real name.

She’s a normal woman – a wife and mother who runs a thriving small business with her new husband. She’s not particularly religious – though she admits she’s a bit more spiritual now than before her injury.

The Power of the Positive No

One day I asked Susan what she thought might be the key to her miraculous recovery:

“That moment in the hospital when the doctor told me about my prognosis, I suddenly got very stubborn.  I had no reason to believe my own opinion more than his, but for some reason I simply refused to believe him.”

She smiled as she told me how she just mentally said, “No” to everything he said. “I wasn’t in denial, she explained, “I knew my situation was very serious, and I couldn’t speak, so he had no idea. But I just found myself mentally saying ‘no’  to everything he said with simple, calm conviction.”

“You’ll never see again.”

No.

“You’ll always have problems speaking.”

No.

“You may never walk again.”

No.

Susan refused to accept her doctor’s description of her future. She cancelled the order.

Make it part of the dance.

Did I mention that before the injury, Susan had been a talented professional dancer?

She once told me that dancers have a rule:

“If you happen to stumble or make a mistake during a performance, a good dancer knows how to ‘make it part of the dance’ – and just keep on going.”

Susan made a decision to make her brain injury “part of the dance” of her life.

She’d stumbled but she chose to keep moving forward no matter what.

Susan took her physical therapy seriously. If she had a bad day, she remembered to ‘make it part of the dance.’ She worked hard to restore her ability to walk. She reclaimed her ability to talk. And somehow Susan found her own unique way to reconstruct her vision piece by piece. Today she sees well enough to read, drive, and look into the eyes of her son – without glasses.

Her doctors still can’t explain how she can do that.

I hope Susan’s story inspires you. If you’re dealing with a challenge such as a life-threatening illness or injury it’s helpful to remember that not everyone has the worst-case scenario your caregivers may be describing. Side effects of treatment don’t always occur. Your prognosis isn’t written in stone.

Perhaps you’ll follow Susan’s example and draw upon the power of your own mind to help yourself  – and maybe even heal yourself.

You are more than your body. Your mind is stronger than your brain.

When someone tells you something will be difficult or painful, they’re programming your subconscious. It’s like a hypnotic trance. This is especially true if it’s a doctor or other authority figure.

People who’ve been told to expect serious side effects often will suffer them, even when the “medicine” is a harmless sugar pill. Studies have proven this.

It’s called the nocebo effect – the opposite of the placebo effect.

For better or worse, the mind has the power to create real physical results, even when it involves the brain.

Think about that for a minute.

So the next time experts tell you how bad things are going to be, I invite you to let your subconscious know YOU have other plans.

I’m not telling you to avoid medical treatment. If you are having a health challenge, of course see a doctor and  follow her advice. You’re not saying no to the actual treatment.

But when experts tell you about bad things that may happen such as scars, pain, or negative side effects, I invite you to indulge in a harmless experiment and simply say a strong internal, NO!  

This isn’t an argumentative “No.”

It isn’t a fearful “No.”

It’s the same thing you might say to a waiter offering you a platter of some food you don’t like to eat – a polite, yet firm,

“No thank you.”

I invite you to welcome the healing effects of your treatment, but firmly reject the rest of the side effects.

The power of the mind is amazing. Take advantage of it.

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Alpha Beta Theta Brain Wave Basics EEG

The fact that our brains are electrical is a relatively new discovery.

The first article about electrical phenomena in the brains of monkeys and rabbits was published in the British Medical Journal of 1875.

Nearly a half century would pass before the first human EEG (electroencephalogram) was recorded. That distinction would go to German psychiatrist and physiologist Hans Berger who invented the device that would begin the field of electroencephalography.

The 4 Building Blocks of Consciousness

There are 4 basic brain wave frequencies and each correlates with a specific state of consciousness. Like sound frequencies, brain waves are measured in Hz, or cycles per second. In general, the slower the frequency of your brain waves, the more relaxed you feel.

Meditation, neurofeedback, hypnosis, and guided imagery have all been shown to help people control their brain waves more efficiently for better health, higher performance, and a more positive experience of life.

Beta Waves: 13-30 Hz

Your brain is producing beta waves as you are reading this. A predominance of beta waves is associated with being alert, active, and whenever you concentrate on learning something or doing an activity that requires focus.

Beta waves are also associated with over-thinking and worry. While the beta state has gotten a bad rap in some meditation circles, you need your brain to generate beta waves in order to think and function consciously.

But when you want to relax, it’s time to shift into alpha.

Alpha Waves: 8-13 Hz

Alpha is the brain wave associated with relaxed, daydreaming states of mind; it’s a state of relaxed, detached awareness. Many people are “in alpha” while watching TV. Alpha is often called a “hypnogogic” state because you may experience spontaneous mental imagery.

If you’re like most people, when you close your eyes and take a few slow, deep breaths you’ll experience a light, relaxed alpha state. Alpha is considered the gateway to meditation. Some people consider alpha waves to be the link between the conscious mind and the subconscious.

You produce alpha waves when you relax to guided imagery. Your brain also produces alpha waves just before you drift off to sleep and just before you wake up. At the beginning of “stage 1 sleep” alpha waves disappear and theta waves appear.

Theta: 4-8 Hz

Theta waves are often associated with deep states of meditation, peak spiritual experiences, and higher states of consciousness. Theta waves are associated with drowsiness or arousal in adults and older children. Young children are in theta most of the time.

Some people consider the theta state to be synonymous with the subconscious mind wherein reside suppressed emotions, as well as a storehouse of creativity.  Theta is associated with REM (rapid eye movement) sleep where dreams occur.

Delta: up to 4 Hz

Delta waves occur in adults during deep, or “slow wave” sleep. It seems this state is needed by the brain because after a period of sleep deprivation, there’s usually a rebound of slow wave sleep.  Alcohol interferes with delta wave sleep. A low carbohydrate diet has been shown to increase the amount of delta activity and deep sleep in healthy individuals.

Delta states sometimes occur during continuous attention tasks.

Delta is considered by some to be the bridge to what Carl Jung described as the “collective unconscious.” Babies are in delta much of the time. For some reason adult females have been shown to have more delta wave activity. This is true not just in humans but in most mammals.

Beyond the Basic Brain Waves

Gamma: 25-100 Hz

Neurologists have also described a Gamma brainwave that’s thought to be involved with our sense of conscious awareness. Gamma waves range in frequency from 25 to 100 Hz though usually they are around 40 Hz. Studies of Tibetan Buddhist monks have shown a correlation between gamma waves and transcendental states of consciousness, but not all neuroscientists are convinced.

Mu 8-13 Hz

The Mu wave is a brain frequency which has been observed and studied since the 1930’s. Mu waves are in the range of 8-13 Hz and arise from large groups of neurons in the brain.

Recently Mu brain waves have been associated with the “mirror neuron” system that activates when we watch another person’s activity. Because mu brain waves may play a role in our ability to understand and imitate others’ behavior, enhancing mu wave activity via neurofeedback is being studied as a therapy for autism. Early results are promising.

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Healing Power of Thought Mind Body Medicine

A Death Sentence

I want to tell you Sally’s Story from Marci Shimoff’s book Love for No Reason.

Shortly before her 50th birthday, Sally became ill to the point she had to be rushed to the hospital. When she got there doctors discovered she was in liver failure.

Sally was shocked. She didn’t drink and had no history of liver disease and after a day of extensive tests, the doctors ruled out hepatitis and cancer. The final verdict was “liver failure for no medical reason.” Even though they couldn’t find the cause, they were sure about the effect: Without a liver transplant Sally would soon die.

She was immediately placed near the top of the national waiting list for donor livers.

With each passing hour Sally’s chances for survival dwindled. Transfusions kept her barely alive until the third day when a donor liver became available. After the transplant Sally’s surgeon said her liver was the worst he’d ever seen. The cause was still a mystery.

Gratitude and Intention

After her transplant Sally was overcome with feelings of deep gratitude. Rejection had been a theme of her life, but now she felt a sense of wonder. She thought,

“God, if you can get me a liver at the last minute, I’m going to trust you. I don’t know who or what I am. I certainly don’t know how to love myself, or anyone really. So please send me whatever and whomever to teach me what love is. I want to live it, be it, model it.”

When Sally left the hospital, she began to take loving care of herself. She scheduled massages, bought herself flowers. She explored alternative healing modalities like acupuncture and homeopathy.

A Setback

Then, about a year after the transplant, Sally got sick again. Without another liver transplant Sally would die. She was sent home with a pager that would alert her the instant a donor liver became available.

Three weeks passed but no call came. During a visit to the hospital Sally encountered a woman who had just received her third liver transplant. This woman  did nothing but complain – about her husband, her health, about everything. Sally remembered something she had learned from acupuncture. According to Chinese medicine the liver is related to the emotion of anger, both expressed and repressed.

Sally wondered if she might need to do some “inner surgery.” She went home, sat down, and for the first time in her life quieted her mind. Sally asked herself, “What do I believe?” As she wrote down each answer without censorship there were many that shocked her. But one in particular stood out.

“I believe there’s a punishing God and I’m being punished because I’m a terrible person.”

If this was her core belief, it became clear to Sally why her attempts at self-love had been unsuccessful. She didn’t have to look far to find the root of the belief that she deserved to be punished. The answer was simple: as a child simply being Sally meant being punished.  She had grown up in a household with zero tolerance for children expressing anger or tears.

Thoughts as Medicine

Sally began to feel deep compassion for the little girl inside who still felt so unloved and so unworthy. In her imagination Sally hugged the child and told her,

“You didn’t do anything wrong. I forgive you and I love you.”

That inner embrace was a turning point. When Sally’s inner voice scolded her with thoughts of, “You shouldn’t feel that way. Stop crying. Don’t be a baby!” Sally would change her thought and speak to her inner child.

“It’s okay honey. You can have those feelings.”

Sally begin to heal emotionally but surprisingly, her physical health began to improve too. The day Sally had sat down to discover what she really believed, her bilirubin levels had been sky high. Too much billirubin meant her liver wasn’t functioning well. As Sally practiced loving thoughts over the next nine months her billirubin levels fell steadily – all the way back to normal.  Her doctors couldn’t explain it.

They Called It a Miracle

That was eighteen years ago. Sally never had to have the second transplant.

Over the years she has continued to be a loving parent to the little girl inside. Ten years ago Sally met and married a wonderful man who has given her the opportunity to experience unconditional love. She wouldn’t wish her brushes with death on anyone but she’s grateful for them because they taught her something she might never have learned otherwise.

What Are Your Core Beliefs?

Do those beliefs help you or hurt you? Is it possible they are affecting your physical health? You don’t have to go through something so dramatic to begin experiencing the healing power of changing your thoughts. You can begin right this moment.

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