Altered states training and the unconscious mind

In the past year, I have added altered states training (low frequency) to compliment high frequency training. Basically, high frequency training is done from the middle of the head forward. Low frequency is exclusively done on the back of the head. High frequency is working on stabilizing the physiology of the brain by reducing amplitude and variability. Low frequency is focusing on the psychological unconscious by increasing amplitude of the frequencies that are already present.

Low frequency training is also called alpha theta training or altered states training. It takes an additional 20 to 25 sessions. I find that if a person stabilizes their brain with a few high frequency training sessions first, then that person responds to altered states training much faster. I have had some clients who follow this sequence notice results in 5 sessions, and it can be dramatic. It’s similar to hypnosis in that the client and I create a script for what they want to focus on. Often the script is on the type of person they want to become. It’s about creating a conscious evolution of oneself. They may want to improve their creativity, be calm in all situations, be able to talk openly to their family, lose their anger, start their own business, or be more outgoing.

I place the sensors over the parietal lobe and have them close their eyes. I spend the first 5-10 minutes going over the imagery they are to consciously focus on. I then turn the feedback on and leave the room. The tones guide them into the elusive alpha theta state. This state of consciousness is experienced as being in between the awake and the asleep. It’s a twilight state. Normally you fall asleep if left on your own. The tones you hear coming from the computer holds you in that normally fleeting state of conscious.

It has all the benefits of hypnosis because you’re re-programming your subconscious mind, but with the added feature that hypnosis can’t get to. Is it clears out the traumatic experiences that have put on the brakes on your ability to progress. Everyone has outdated negative, life limiting beliefs. They reside in the unconscious and usually you don’t even know what they are. The brain operates as if these beliefs are still true.

Alpha-theta training is most commonly used for alcoholism and post traumatic stress disorder. In 1989 Eugene Peniston published his now famous study using alpha theta training to treat chronic alcoholics in an inpatient setting. He achieved an 80% rate of recovery. These were men from a VA hospital who were also Vietnam vets. They were reporting that not only did they stopped drinking, but they stopped obsessing about the war. Also, many negative aspects of their personality cleared up. That led to another study of just working with PTSD. They found the same thing happened. The PTSD went away. The rough edges of personality mellowed. Several MMPI scores moved to within normal limits.

I took that information and thought, why don’t we just apply this to everyone? Theoretically, every person has had some trauma during their lifetime. Therefore, just about anyone could benefit. Everybody wants to move forward in life and resolve their stuck points. You want to move towards something, but you get to a certain level and then you stop yourself. While a person may have some awareness of what stops them, the real reason is buried in the unconscious. There is the fear that if you get too close to achieving your goal, you’ll get rejected, ridiculed, yelled at, abandoned, hurt, etc. It’s pure fear. It has to do with early memories, early belief systems, and early trauma. The great thing about altered states training is that it’s very generic. You don’t have to consciously know what it is that is holding you back. The brain, while idling in 6-9 cycles per second, just clears it up. I have a person focus on what they want to move toward and visualize that. With this type of training, the brain increases the motivation (approach) and decreases the fear (avoidance).

Thomas Edison had his own version of this method. When he would get stuck on a problem, after hours of focusing on it, he would go to his office for a “power nap”. He would recline in his chair with metal ball bearings in the palm of both hands. Below his dangling hands on the floor were two metal pie pans. He got as close to sleep as he possibly could without actually falling asleep. If he did, the ball bearings would drop and make a loud clang noise, waking him up. He would drift into the twilight state until the solution to the problem arose spontaneously, then jump up and go back to work. It was low tech biofeedback at its finest.

Several of my clients “graduated” to altered states training after they completed 20 sessions of high frequency training. These individuals have been making significant changes in their life. It’s exciting to watch. It often goes way beyond what psychotherapy offers and with greater depth.