Hemi-Sync® Journal 1994-1 (Winter)

--- PAGE 1 (OCR) --- Vol. XII Winter 1994 A Publication of The Monroe Institute IN THIS ISSUE HEMI-SYNC AND SUBTLE COMMUNICATION TO FACILITATE LABOR AND CHILDBIRTH Monty Renov offers encouraging evidence of Hemi. Sync’s capability to ease pregnancy and the birth process for mother and child. i WALKING THE AIDS CIRCLE: HEALING THROUGH HEMI-SYNC.. seeeeedii Hemi-Sync can provide vital support to the physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual well-being of AIDS survivors. Barbara Bullard and Kat Carroll share observations from their personal involvement. HEMI-SYNC AND SUBTLE COMMUNICATION TO FACILITATE LABOR AND CHILDBIRTH by Monty Renov, MA Monty Renov is a psychologist practicing in Padova, Italy. A Professional Member of The Monroe Institute since February of 1990, he received his undergraduate degree from Queens College and his MA degree at the Centro per Ricerche Biopsichiche in Padova. He is currently at work on PhD dissertations in both clinical psychology and psychocorporeal studies. In his 1993 Professional Seminar presentation, Monty shared the results of a two year project designed to explore Hemi-Sync's effectiveness in support of pregnancy and childbirth. Findings thus far indicate that hemispheric synchronization frequencies, positive affirmations, autogenic respiratory training, and selected music, working as a synergistic whole, tend to promote feelings of well-being, serenity, and self-confidence for the mother during pregnancy and birth. Benefits may also include a sense of communion with the unborn child, a decrease in labor and delivery time, and noticeable tranquillity in the newborn. This project developed from conversations with a fellow psychologist and friend, Dr. Severina Zambon of Padova, Italy, concerning her primary field of involvement—prepara- tion of women for the childbirth experience. The hospital ambulatory section with which she is affiliated offers preg- nant women a preparatory course based on 1) evaluation of their comfort level with the impending role of motherhood, 2) Respiratory Autogenic Training to encourage self-knowl- edge, attunement to internal processes, mastery of possibly incapacitating anxiety states, and ability to approach the birth process in a relaxed, active manner, and 3) a good Srounding in hygiene and nutrition. Comfort level, the first component, was evaluated by the administration of a battery of psychological tests known as the Small Instrument. Time was also taken to consider the most frequently voiced anxieties and concerns of the women in the program. The issues foremost in their minds and hearts fell into the categories of concerns for self and con- cerns related to the unborn child. The former included feel- ing out of touch with inner processes and fear of experienc- ing them as a helpless victim; low self-esteem; apprehension while awaiting the birth and negative expectations (such as inability to bear the pain) around it; fear of inadequate preparation and tools for the event; distrust of their ability to maintain adequate presence-of-mind and consciousness; fear that child care might be boring; fear of feeling unattractive, unfeminine, and unwanted after the birth; and mistrust of © 1994 The Monroe Institute Route 1, Box 175, Faber, VA 22938-9749 804/361-9132 --- PAGE 2 (OCR) --- HEMI-SYNC™ JOURNAL their own ability to face life situations creatively and confi- dently. Issues directly related to the well-being of the child included the possibility of sabotaging the child’s tranquillity with their own nervousness and anxiety; the possibility of birth defects; general health concerns; and their ability to love the child adequately, gain its trust, and act as good mothers and guides. Having identified the most prevalent negative attitudes, the task was then to find a method of stimulating corre- sponding positive expectations. I had already observed the ability of hemispheric synchronization to promote entrain- ment and deep relaxation, both of which are indispensable for the acquisition and internalization of new knowledge and self-perceptions. Recording and using subliminal tapes suc- cessfully to help clients deal with complaints as diverse as PMS, lack of self-esteem, overeating, difficulty in expressing emotions, and depression had encouraged a positive attitude toward this method of learning. Further, this seemed an opportune time to apply my own musical skills to create a composition conducive to entering a relaxed, altered state of consciousness. The result, titled Sea of Light, employed unexpected time shifts of a solo instrument counterpoised to a slow, steady, but inconspicuous background rhythm to pro- vide the impetus for shifting to a dreamy, light trance state. The appropriate positive affirmations were crafted to coun- terbalance each corresponding negative apprehension of the participants. These were recorded subliminally, together with triggering affirmations and the music, on Side One of the audiocassette. Side Two combined the music with sounds of a real brook interspersed with poetry and relaxing and reassur- ing images from nature. In the final production phase, a care- fully selected layer of hemispheric synchronization frequen- cies was added to optimize relaxation and receptivity. The finished product, For a Joyous Labor and Delivery, was administered as an adjunct to the Respiratory Autogenic Training. The women were to listen to the tape once daily, from the sixth month of pregnancy up until the day of deliv- ery. Letters have since been received from quite a number of them relating the benefits they perceived. While listening to the tape, they almost imperceptibly found themselves re- entering a world remembered from childhood that had mys- teriously vanished as they became adults. Their lives were enriched as they started to discover pleasurable sensations that had gone unnoticed—the smell of a flower, the sound of falling raindrops, inner aspects of their lives. Most partici- pants found it easier to sleep after a week of listening; those who had suffered from insomnia were able to sleep well for the first time in years. The subliminal modality bypasses the critical, objective capacity of the conscious mind. This capacity is essential to our ability to discern and test reality. However, it is frequent- ly associated with a fear-based impulse to avoid pain and humiliation and becomes coupled with a tendency to reject new situations or possibilities out of hand. This tenacious defense of the status quo may effectively prevent significant life changes. By circumventing this defense system, new, pos- itive paradigms may be presented to the subconscious and formulated to suggest that the desired state is already true and effortlessly available. The subconscious is thereby freed to begin to reconfigure experience according to the new par- adigm. It becomes much easier to reframe experience posi- tively and constructively. We have obtained most gratifying results by employing this approach, with the invaluable addition of Hemi-Sync, to facilitate the birthing process. Obstetricians frequently com- mented on the calmness of both mothers and babies during the deliveries. Participating women who used the tape as instructed demonstrated a net reduction, beyond that associ- ated with the effect of Respiratory Autogenic Training, with respect to the norm of labor and delivery time. The components of the birth process are the prodromic (breaking of the water), dilational, and expulsive phases. Dr. Zambon worked with small groups of three or four women, all primipara (first-time) mothers, in her private office envi- ronment. For a Joyous Labor and Delivery was used in con- junction with Respiratory Autogenic Training. Taking all three phases into account, the average birthing time record- ed was four hours and forty-five minutes. The population sample consisted entirely of Caucasian, Catholic women from the Italian province of Veneto. All prospective mothers took the Small Instrument (Luscher, P.A.R.L, T.C.F.S., M.A.S.) battery of diagnostic tests to identify problems regarding emotional expression, anxiety, sexual role, and attitudes toward their own parents and toward becoming a parent. Conflicts in these areas tended to diminish during gestation and reappear as delivery time approached. The Small Instrument was readministered after delivery. For evaluation purposes, Professor Brigato, Head of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Padova’s Civil Hospital was interviewed. He confirmed that, taking only the two final phases of dilation and expulsion into account, first-time mothers in the autogenic training course averaged a delivery time of five hours and fifty minutes. The hospital groups each consisted of twenty-five to thirty Italian women of Caucasian, Catholic background. Professor Brigato also furnished additional information which is valuable for comparison. Treatise of Obstetrics by Professor Clivio, Vol. 1, published in 1945, states that primi- para mothers averaged fifteen hours for all three phases of the process. The Manual of Clinical Obstetrical Gynecology by E. Maurizio, 1962, gives an average time of nine to twen- ty-two hours for the first two phases and one to four hours for the expulsive period. Clinical Obstetrical Gynecology by Candiani, 1992, omits the prodromic phase and gives an average of six to eight hours for the last two. In 1945 few Italian women worked outside the home; by 1962 many women worked outside the home but autogenic training was unavailable. In 1992, most Italian women are employed out- side the home and birth prophylaxis courses incorporating autogenic principles are common. Certainly, the reduction in time for the birth process itself and the subjective assessments of well-being and enhanced life quality are encouraging. This study will continue for another year to explore what can be learned from further observation. We would also be interested in employing this synergistic approach to facilitating birth and delivery in a population with different ethno-religious condi- tioning factors. ii --- PAGE 3 (OCR) --- Winter 1994 WALKING THE AIDS CIRCLE: HEALING THROUGH HEMI-SYNC by Barbara Bullard, MA and Kat Carroll, MA Barbara Bullard, professor of speech communications, and Kat Carroll, professor of interpersonal communications, have been Professional Members of The Monroe Institute since 1989 and 1992, respectively. Barbara has applied the HUMAN PLUS tape series extensive- ly with her community college classes. Kat also applies Hemi-Sync regu- larly as a body-mind teacher and director of her own Quantum Living program. Together, they train individuals publicly and privately on sub- jects related to the development of human potential. This paper, based on their joint presentation at the 1993 Professional Seminar, is an overview of work with the California Positive Immunity Program. In it, they share the “living” insights they have gained into the value of Hemi-Sync for supporting physical, emotional, and mental healing for long- and short- term survivors of AIDS. Viewed as a circle, the process of birth, transformation, and death presents us with a series of beginnings-for noth- ing ever really ends. However, it is not always easy to think in those terms when walking that circle as a survivor of AIDS. Birth becomes the act of simply waking up each day; transformation involves daily survival with new routines, foods, drugs, and dramatic changes in lifestyles; and death is a shadow, a constant reminder of life's delicacy. Working for the last two years with survivors of AIDS in the Positive Immunity Program (PIP), we have journeyed along the edge of the fragile circle defined by the HIV virus. It has also given us precious opportunities to know the “peaceful warriors” who walk that circle daily. Six years ago, several of our students and friends were diagnosed HIV positive. It was natural to apply our back-