This image was adapted from an illustration in "Biomeditation" by Payne, B. & Reitano, C.T. (1977)
By Dr Jean Millay, PhD
Guest writer for Wake Up World
This is part of Chapter 42 from the book
RADIANT MINDS: Scientists Explore the Dimensions of Consciousness
3 -A) SELF-DISCOVERY SCIENCE
BIOFEEDBACK AND NEUROFEEDBACK-
Marge King [1]
One of the most important purposes of education is to put all children in complete possession of their abilities and talents. To date, those abilities and talents have been defined without reference to the autonomic nervous system. Biological feedback introduced into the school curriculum brings an understanding and control of the nervous system to children before they become habituated to unhealthy reactions to the stresses commonly experienced today in so many educational environments.
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There have been decades of research on the uses of bio/neurofeedback (BFB) and (NFB). This “Therapeutic Model” has worked successfully to alleviate many health problems, especially for those patients ensnared in old habits of stress. Now it is time to introduce the “Self-discovery Model” of bio/neurofeedback to children before similar unhealthy reactions to stress become habits for them as well. Consider the economic savings in healthcare for adults if they had learned to manage stress early in life, and thus were able to avoid many health problems. The evolution of healthcare in the 21st century should follow our best research, which has created the technology of energy medicine, and the tools for learning self-regulation of the autonomic nervous system.
Most of us grew up believing “the doctor knows best,” even those who (in these days) spend very little time talking to us. After one very brief look at our chart, some will automatically prescribe expensive (and sometimes harmful) pills. At this writing, we all suffer from this inefficient system, because of its emphasis on the old allopathic model of healthcare that has been corrupted by large pharmaceutical companies that “buy” political benefits from politicians, and “advise” FDA administrators. Medical schools rarely mention the healing power of good nutrition or herbs that have been used for healing for centuries,[2] and doctors rarely prescribe neurofeedback for pain instead of pills; the insurance doesn’t cover it. With this cooperation between Big Pharm and Insurance companies, plus their influence on governmental agencies, real healthcare is lost.
We propose the introduction of free and voluntary biofeedback into public school science classes beginning with ten-year-olds. In a short time, these students and their parents could begin the shift of emphasis from allopathic medicine to energy medicine, saving millions of dollars in healthcare (even with the new “healthcare law”). In that way, we could bypass the difficulties now firmly entrenched in the present system. BFB and NFB therapists have proved over many years that these methods work to give the power back to the patient and alleviate ADD and ADHD.[3] Only children with extreme cases actually need the kind of dangerous drugs doctors prescribe for them. When learned early enough, NFB and BFB can be instrumental in increasing the intelligence of students of all ages, since the ability to focus attention is a key to intelligence. Students can also use BFB to enhance sports performance.
By demonstrating to students how their own electrical and magnetic frequencies are related to those of the sun and the earth, children also find that we are all connected to everything. This is good science, especially as we struggle with the problems of climate change and expanding renewable energy. Learning about electromagnetism (EM) is fundamental for all of us now. The current educational system only provides classes in EM for those college-bound high school students who may take a class in physics. But we have demonstrated that ten-year-olds in our BFB classes can understand the basics of it easily as their own electrical physiological responses are fed back to them. More importantly, they will see if their increasing use of electronic gadgets has an effect on their energies.
The “Self-Discovery Model” of biofeedback demonstrates the way our bodies respond to our own thoughts and to other people. This information provides the power to change our reactions voluntarily as needed. With this self-control, we can discover also the innate power of our own multidimensional consciousness. In 1975, Leary predicted that students in the future would learn to “Dial and tune their nervous systems to produce a quantum leap in intellectual efficiency and emotional equilibrium.” [4] The technology of bio/neurofeedback is making that happen. It has become inexpensive enough for school use, and is very useful as well as for personal use at home.
Buryl Payne, PhD, developed the first portable GSR machine to provide sound for feedback (now called SCR for Skin Conductance Resistance). His book Biomeditation describes how students invented their own SCR games that they really enjoyed. He wrote:
One instrument can be connected to a whole group of people if they hold hands or touch each other on the skin. We have connected more than 100 persons to one instrument…. Yelling, deep breathing, chanting, or any of the exercises and experiments, which have been done with the GSR individually, can be done with a group. (See illustration on the first page of Section X, p. 509.)
If anyone stops holding hands, the feedback sound will stop. If two of them tap hands, the feedback sound will match the rhythm. Students directly experience the reality of their electrical connection to each other.
Since the 1970s, health professionals have proved the benefits of NFB and BFB for the prevention or relief of many stress related illnesses. During this same time, quietly without fanfare, and with little or no funding, teachers in different parts of the country have brought BFB and NFB into their classrooms. Some have used it for lessons in:
1. SCIENCE
a. To study the electricity and magnetism of the body,
b. To demonstrate the relationships between brain/body frequencies and those of sun and earth.
c. To show physical reactions to thoughts.
2. STRESS MANAGEMENT
a. To demonstrate ways of releasing emotional and physical tension. (SCR and EMG)
3. WAYS TO MODIFY A LEARNING DISABILITY
a. Brainwave and/or SCR training can be used to help alleviate Attention Deficient Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD / ADD).
4. EXPLORING ANY EFFECT ON THINKING CAUSED BY FOOD OR DRUGS
a. Do you feel your thinking changes when you are hungry? How?
b. How do your brainwaves change when you have used any of the following substances? – lots of sugar, greasy food, colas, coffee, high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), Aspartame, or other?
c. How does your energy level change, and for how long?
5. SELF-DISCOVERY FOR THOSE WHO NOTE THEIR OWN REACTIONS
a. What changes occur in my energy signals when I think about different ideas?
b. Can I learn to increase my ability to focus attention?
c. Will my hands and feet get warmer if I just think about warm things?
d. If my heart is beating rapidly, will it slow down when I focus on breathing slower and more evenly? (Use heart rate feedback — www.HeartMath.com.)
e. Can I learn to stop a headache by relaxing tense muscles? (EMG)
SUCCESS STORIES
Years ago, when I began teaching science at a continuation high school, I discovered that the students usually only attended school because it was a requirement for staying out of juvenile hall. That is why I developed the “Self-Discovery Model” to use biofeedback as a science lesson. Below is a summary of my students’ responses on the final exam:
FINAL EXAM: WHAT DID YOU LEARN IN SCIENCE THIS YEAR?
1) “I’ve learned a lot from this class. I’ve always hated science and only took it when I had to, but I heard some people talking about your class so I went and got enrolled. It was hard at first sitting still for five minutes. And dreams, well, I just didn’t dream! But I learned different. I could remember my dreams and start to control who or what I dreamed about. The nightmares didn’t come as often and dreams with meaning started coming…. I could watch my thoughts and not get involved. Problems that were in my mind got solved easier, because I was not involved. This has been the best class I’ve ever been in. I wish I’d started earlier. I feel a lot better about my mind and body because I know more about it now.”
2) “One of the things I think it did for me was to mellow me out. And from being mellow, I have found it much easier to relate to people…. It has also helped me to cut down on using drugs. In the morning I meditate instead of smoking.”
3) “I’m understanding how to really have control over my being.”
4) “I’ve learned a lot about bodily functions – how the heart, eyes, lungs, muscles and glands work. I really understand how they work. Not a textbook paragraph of which I can quote but a real understanding. I can now explain in my own words how they work in detail. I’ve also gained a lot of self-control and a better understanding of people. I’ve learned to improve my memory, how to relax, meditate, and I can identify all (practically) of my emotions.”
5) “When my right hand was eight degrees colder than my left hand, I couldn’t get either of them to change. You found a tight muscle in my right shoulder. I used the EMG and got the muscle to relax, so my hand warmed up. A few days later, I found out why my right hand was so cold the other day! Last night my Dad was yelling at me again and after I went to my room, I realized that my shoulder muscles were all tight, because I wanted to hit him. After that, I pretended I was using the temperature trainer and right away relaxed.”
Student comments after using the brainwave light sculpture. (p. 249)
6) “I’m in beta when I add, I’m in theta when I’m mad, therefore I can’t add when I’m mad.”
7) “I’m in alpha when I float with the music, I’m in beta when I listen to the words, and I saw theta flashes on the downbeat in time with the music.”
Article Sources
Part of Chapter 42 from the book RADIANT MINDS: Scientists Explore the Dimensions of Consciousness
[1] Marjorie Beers King, MS (1921 – 2002), graduated from high school when she was 16.
Her opportunity for higher education came during WWII, when she served in the Navy Waves as a Lieutenant. After marriage and four children, she became their sole support, so she worked for the aerospace industry as a “literature chemist,” until they grew up. After earning a teaching credential, she taught math, chemistry and science in high school and college. Her work was among the first to achieve success with difficult students using physiological feedback. This chapter includes excerpts from her major contributions to Self-Discovery Science. Available free at www.fmbr.org.
[2] Personal communication from interviewing several doctors.
[3] Green, G.H. The A.D.D. Quest for Identity: Inside the Mind of Attention Deficit Disorder. Reno, NV: The Biofeedback Center Press. 1997. stresslesslife.com.
[4] Leary, T. (1975) “Seeds of the Sixties.” Spit in the Ocean, Kesey, K. (Ed.).
About the Author
Dr Jean Millay, PhD. is the editor of RADIANT MINDS: Scientists Explore the Dimensions of Consciousness, a collection of papers about research and philosophy by 55 prominent authors. This is a revised and updated version of the 1993 PRG book Silver Threads: 25 Years of Parapsychology Research, which had three editors — Kane, B., Millay, J. & Brown, D. (Praeger, 1993.). In 1999, her own book “MULTIDIMENSIONAL MIND: Remote Viewing in Hyperspace,” was a Universal Dialogues Book, published by North Atlantic Books.
For thirty-five years she was involved in teaching biofeedback, parapsychology, psi research and the study of consciousness. She was president of the Parapsychology Research Group (PRG) in San Francisco for six years. She participated in most of Dr. Ruth-Inge Heinze’s 22 annual conferences on “The Study of Shamanism and Alternate Modes of Healing,” which published her presentations in the proceedings shamanismconference.org. These include: The use of trance states for age regression, to explore past-life-like experiences, and OOBEs. She is a channel for spirit communication.
She and other teachers created the biofeedback program “Self-Discovery Science” for children (10-years and up) to understand the relationship between thoughts and health. This 80-page booklet and EM chart is now available for a free download from fmbr.org (The Foundation for Mind/Being Research.)
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