(TMI-Army Files) 1983 - MIAS Proposals

obvious yet natural edge of CS - the release and dispersion of CS at the onset of and dyring sleep.j| The simple process of extended wake- fulness did not’‘produce any wog thwhile patterns, i.e., delaying the loss of CS without qualitative! changes of what appeared to be a de- . clining efficiency. The#efore, a means was sought to maintain the ~ —~ quality of CS as the physiologagal system converted into the sleep state. This included the problem of how to make peace with the home- ostatic network, which,resists ar feels "threatened" by any change - and change had to be the key to ny process to be designed and de- veloped. ' \ Discovery ~ Very little was achieved in the early effort except to verify mane earlier studies on sleep. Some 52 subjects were tested in various sleep states without any significant new information brought into view. The first and basi¢ breakthrough took place inadvertently, through necessity. The project team, for the most part volunteers, found it difficult to find time to travel from home to home with equipment and instrumentation to measure sleep states of various subjects. The project did not have adequate facilities to house subjects for the night. Also, subjects found it very difficult to go to sleep upon request. If they did, it was usuflly in a near-exhausted state which negated anything other than delta sleep, a near-comatose unresponsive state (at that period). + To solve the problem, so that subjects would be able to go quickly into sleep when needed, various methods were tried. Environments were set up most condusive to sleep, including control of temperature, humidity, light and sound - which were only partially successful. Light stimulation Was tried, - but seemedto bring discomfort rather than relaxation. A combination of audio signals showed promise. Additional investigation proved the solution.i It was discovered that phased sine waves at discernable sound frequen- cies, when blended to create “beat” frequencies within the ranges of electrical ae waves found at the various sta0¢8 of human seep, wilh create a Freqdency Following Response FR) within the EEG pattern of the individual listening fo such audio waveforms. The FFR When used in its entiréty, this special system helps the patient in reduction of anxieties, contrgl of life energies, reduction of pain, and acceleration natural body healing. Patients consistently re- port major gains in all of these areas. 4. Control of Pain: It is not yet clear why the method is as effective as indicated. The suggestion for control of chronic pain would appear to be quite insufficient to provide the dynamic changes reported ‘again and again. As little as one week of work with the tapes has often been sufficient. There is some speculation that it is related to ithe effect noted in (1) above. ‘ 5. Stroke Recovery: Although very little has been done with the Monroe System in this area, the preliminary findings bear report- ing. The synchronization of the hemispheres of two participants shortly after the onset of minor strokes, each produced definite im- provement in the dittunction. In one case, the subject had suffered minor speech difficulty and intermittent motor instability in his legs. After three hemi-sync sessions, his speech had cleared considerably, and he was able to walk steadily without effort. Three months later, there had been no retrogression that could be observed. ‘ 6. Psycho-therapy: When applied in the interview setting, the hemi-sync mode appears to help the patient reach very quickly long- | submerged levels Which have resisted penetration by most traditional means. It has been stated that 10 interviews using the system may be the equivalent of 10 years of orthodox treatment. ~ 7. Problem Solving: The coherent brain-mind focused in a given area by specific FFR patterns apparently has a far greater capacity to view any‘ condition from a holistic position than "normal" con- sciousness. It can be speculated that it is the result of simple utilization of complete inter-action between brain hemispheres. In a demonstration with a group of forty-five executives of a major corporation, participants were asked to seek the best answer they could for his own individual problem, while experiencing hemi-sync. Thirty reported decision-solutions of a quality for the most part unexpected. Each was sure it was the "right" answer. --- PAGE 23 (OCR) --- 8. Accelerated Learning: The pure synchronization effect alone offers many potentials in Type IT and Type ITT by the simple provision of focusing of attention. For example, its use by students while studying enhances retention and recall: One college student was able to raise her college grades from a 2.5 to 3.9 average in one quarter, — using the method. Another test showed an ability to perceive and remember oral information at a rate of 1,000 words per minute. (A Speech compresser was used to create the material). Another partici- pant was able to multiply two eight-digit numbers mentally, with 100% accuracy; without the hemi-sync effect, he had difficulty with sets of two digit numbers. Multiplication tables from 13 to 24 were used as rote material, with 60% accuracy in recall after one session. Under the same conditions, mental-physical co-ordination activities were simulated with a form of guided imagery. Particular tests were - performed chiefly in sports where any changes could be measured. The most indicative of these took place where six golfers all reduced their scores by as much as five strokes. The implication that the method could be employed in more constructive directions and in many forms appears to be limited only by the need. 9. Creative Stimulus: A well-known training authority stated that over 30,000 engineers on the company payroll, savings and/or profits could be increased by some $200,000,000 if this employee group added 2% to their creative ability. Response in this area from the Monroe System has been so consistent that perhaps one day the Institute will be able to conduct such an extensive study as this. Tests already performed with a small and diverse engineering group some eleven in number have shown a probability to surpass easily such percentile. Several in the group have developed new designs in their respective fields which were interesting enough to warrant patent application, One participant in another Institute program became inspired to write a book, completed it and sold it to a’ publisher within six weeks. A second became proficient and prominent as a commercial artist, a third turned musical composer and arranger. Several hundred have come forth with new ideas, methods, concepts and viewpoints that have brought major changes in their life styles. The value of the latter can be assessed only by the individual at first, and subsequently by those around him. The following is a portion of a report from one Institute research associate, psychiatrist Stuart Twemlow: we have found that the tapes encourage the focusing of brain energy (it can be measured as with a light bulb, in watts) into a narrower and narrower "frequency band". Thi focusing of energy is not unlike the yoga concept of one pointednessl which we may translate in Western terms as single-mindedness. As Focus'10 counts down, there is a gradual in- Crease in brain-wave size, which is a measure of brain energy or powér., --- PAGE 24 (OCR) --- - 1lot- Although the significance of this is not yet clear, it could be specu- lated that the tape system encourages the recruitment of neurons in the brain to focus their attention on a single task, thus perhaps in- Creasing the efficiency of mastering a task, whether that be to reduce tension on the muscles, to improve sleeping, or control pain". — “I'll describe three situations where we have applied the Monroe tapes with unusually striking results. The types of patients with whom the tapes have been tried, generally speaking, have been chronic that is, have had their problem for long periods of time". "One such case was a middle-aged lady who had severe pain resulting from problems in the healing of an old fracture. In combining the tapes with a structured hospital milieu, we determined that as she began to xelax the parts of her body which had not relaxed, were those pains con- nected with psychological problems for which the pain was serving the function of "secondary gains". That is, the pain appeared to help her cope with some of the psychological stresses in her everyday life ina Sense was kept going because it served this adaptive function". "As we were able to deal with this, she began to feel in control of her life and her need to keep the pain decreased. After discharge from the hospital, this patient has continued to be almost unrecognizable physically. She looks a great deal younger than she did before, she has her pain under control and does not need any physical support for it. Most strikingly, other parts of her life from which she had been very withdrawn, have now become a source of gratification to her". "The next case concerns a middle-aged man with a very long history of psychosomatic problems affecting practically every organ in his body.’ - A psychological investigation found many of these symptoms related to Some severe surgical trauma which occurred when he was a young child. In this case, we combined the tape exercises, especially the Focus 10 exercise with the sorts of stimuli in his environment that would make him very anxious, that is, the stimuli that reminded him of the surgi- cal trauma as a child. Over a period of weeks we exposed him both to the Focus 10 deeply relaxed state and to the stimuli that would make him very anxious and upset. Gradually, he became desensitized to the stimuli and was able to feel a lot more in control of his life". "A dying man utilized the tape system. He also had severe pain which had been impossible to control with massive doses of narcotic. Over a period of weeks, he also achieved control. Since he died, we've had a communication from his wife. She stated that he played the tapes until he died and the last week of his life, was completely pain free and at peace". of his physical body made him less frightened and panicky. The control and preparation made hin, therefore, more able to make peace with the family - so important in dying people. In fact, as we have noticed with --- PAGE 25 (OCR) --- -ll- a number of people who are dying, he was able to give support to those around him who will suffer the loss. Coming to terms with the loss of his own physical body enabled him to integrate the remaining he had in this direction". “Use of the tapes in a clinical setting has pointed out that their effect on reduction of stress and tense muscles is startling. As a matter of fact, it appears that not only muscles under voluntary con-~ trol but also those under involuntary control (smooth muscles, such as the muscles of the bladder) may be relaxed with the Focus 10 exercise". “Patients who are chronic feel very much out of control of the vari- ous symptoms they have. As with a number of the newer therapeutic tech- niques, giving them a sense of control has a "snowball" effect on the control of other symptoms and aspects of their interpersonal relation- ships. As they begin to achieve in other areas resulting from this "snowball" effect, each small success has a reinforcing effect". “It seems that Focus 10 is the basic state which is essential to master before being able to proceed. Some of our patients have learned to induce the Focus 10 state to relax their bodies while they are actively engaged in work, and certainly to relax their bodies in be- tween some highly stressful day-to-day working situations. Some patients are now able to program their sleep, so that they awake at certain times. A number of them with insomnia have found themselves Sleeping very restfully".