Getting Into Alpha?


by H. Bernard Wechsler - Date: 2006-12-21 - Word Count: 976 Share This!

When Charles Darwin announced his theory of evolution in 1859 in Origin of Species less than 1% of the world population believed as he did. Religion explained it all in Genesis and it sufficed for individuals and universities for the previous two centuries.

The term Survival of the Fittest was coined by British philosopher Herbert Spencer who believed in division-of-labor in society and the organism.

By the 21st Century 98% of college educated adults had rejected belief in the creation of our world on the 23rd of October, 4004 B.C.

Archbishop James Ussher of Trinity College in Dublin doped out this date back in the middle of the 1600s and it became part of believing in the King James Version of the Bible. When Darwin contradicted Ussher two hundred years later it was a rejection of God's Holy word. Not.

The Brain

Our 3 pound jellied coconut is an electro-chemical system. In Darwin's time educated people freaked out thinking somehow they were related to monkeys. Well, I'll be a monkey's uncle! is still an expression of amazement.

Our origin is not the split from chimpanzees but our bacterial and viral ancestors. We hit prime-time when we evolved from cells to fish in the sea and all the creepy-crawly reptiles we find revolting.

Today homo sapiens is a mammal whose organs (heart, brain and cells) operate on 8-10 watts of electricity and the Sodium-Potassium chemicals of Long-Term Potentiation - (Google it up). Our closest structural relatives are your computer, cell phone and refrigerator. We function and are structured electromagnetically and from your kid's Xmas chemistry set. Are we really Cyborgs (cybernetic organisms) in disguise?

Hans Berger and his EEG Machine

Many scientists (Richard Hawkins) instinctively distrust biblical Tradition - Authority - Revelation because they offer no evidence to evaluate their reality. Not so fast - there are ancient traditions proven effective, authority that is honest and useful, and revelations from our intuition useful to solve mental, physical and scientific challenges.

Let us not throw out the bouncing baby with the dirty bath water. It is not Show me the Money - our Knowledge Economy says Show me the evidence and your proof.

In the U.S. with 300 hundred million population is it possible 3-5 folks have freaky talents, knowledge and skills to unlock the unsolvable?

In 1924 Dr. Hans Berger (remember McDonald's Hamburger) was the first scientist to record the electrical brainwaves in humans. He named them Alpha rhythms (8 to 12 cycles per second); Beta brainwave rhythms (13 to 30 cps Hertz - Hz); Delta rhythms 0.05 to 3 cps (Hz) and Theta brainwave rhythms (4 to 7 cps Hz).

He called his scientific instrument for measuring the electricity driving the neurons in our brain an EEG (Electroencephalogram). It can show evidence of epilepsy, Parkinson's, brain tumors, inflammation and disease.

Today EEG is used to present feedback from various structures of our brain in order to learn to control behaviors produced by specific brainwave rhythms. Neurofeedback is a recognize field of scientific research. It shows success in helping a patient take personal control in reducing anxiety, depression, ADD and chronic stress.

It is used to enhance getting into the Zone (Flow) for accelerated learning and memory.

Using Alpha Without EEG

We live in Beta consciousness 16 hours daily - it is alert activity with our left hemisphere dominating our brain. Close your eyes and relax for one-minute and your brainwaves morph into Alpha cycles per second (Hz), an altered state of consciousness. It releases chronic stress through alert relaxation and often leads to creative intuition.

Theta is a deeper form of Alpha consciousness associated with learning and memory using more of our right hemisphere to offset our left-brain consciousness.

a) Close your eyes, feet flat on the floor, hands on top of your

knees. b) Take three separate diaphragmatic breaths. Now mentally visualizing the numbers (breath) 3-3-3, followed by (breath), 2-2-2 and (breath) 1-1-1.

c) Next, take one breath between mentally visualizing each of the following digits 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-13-14-15.

d) Now you are now in Alpha and ready to mentally visualize a page of unreadable text. Your job is to use the index finger of your dominant hand to underline the words of the sentences and move vertically down the page.

e) Simultaneously move your head left-to-right in rhythm to your underlining hand motion. We know you cannot read the words of the sentences; it is the kinesthetic movements diagonally (right-to-left) we want to program.

f) Mentally hear (subvocalization) in your mind's ear the phrase Speed Learning once each couple of seconds as you move your hand diagonally down the text.

Sensory Multiplication

When you mentally hear the repetition of the words Speed Learning you are triggering your Auditory Cortex for learning and memory. Mentally visualizing your index finger moving diagonally down the text you activate your Visual cortex. Your volitional movement of the moving index finger uses your brain stem and basal ganglia and triggers your PreMotor cortex (Kinesthetic sense).

Using your three most powerful senses has a multiplier effect on synchronizing your left and right brain for learning and long-term memory.

Whatever you do in Alpha and Theta is retained by your brain and placed in permanent retrievable memory. It is filtered and consolidated for future use during Delta sleep.

Using Alpha produces faster internalization of Speed Learning strategies. You will 3x your reading speed and add up to 40% to your attention and concentration skills.

Endwords

In the beginning you will want to discard this Alpha technique as irrelevant. It is a cry from your mind to return to the Status-Quo and your old Comfort-Zone. You are both your own teacher (autodidactic) and self-motivating so remember that you rule! After five days of Alpha visualizing for Speed Learning effectiveness you create a new habit producing powerful results.

It is your choice to read-and-remember three books, articles and reports instead of just one. You can decide to have the competitive-edge over your peers and maintain your place in the fast-lane throughout your career. The alternative is returning to snailing and the old status-quo. Choose.

See ya,

copyright © 2006 H. Bernard Wechsler


Related Tags: memory, learning, self-help, speed reading, autosuggestion

Copyright © 2006
H. Bernard Wechsler
http://www.speedlearning.org
hbw@speedlearning.org

Author of Speed Reading For Professionals, published by Barron's; partner of Evelyn Wood, creator of speed reading, graduating 2 million, including the White House staffs of four U.S. Presidents.

Interviewed in 2006 by the Wall Street Journal and Fortune Magazine.

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