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(Hemi-Sync® Journal, Vol. XIX, No. 1, Winter 2001)
BEYOND FOCUS 27: WELLSPRINGS OF CREATIVITY
by Susan Taylor, M.A.
Following a magical childhood amongst the hills, lakes, and forests of southern Indiana, Susan
Taylor obtained a BA in art education from California State University at Fresno and an MA in
humanities from California State University at Dominguez Hills. For the past twenty years she
has taught art, photography, pottery, and 3D computer graphics/animation in high school and
community college educational systems. Susan is an accredited Monroe Institute Outreach
Trainer and recently joined the Professional Division.
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Focus 35
I love people’s stories about how they discovered The Monroe Institute. I, like many others,
happened upon Robert Monroe’s work when Journeys Out of the Body just sort of fell off the
shelf when I needed it. Soon thereafter I read Far Journeys, but I didn’t learn about the
Institute and begin using Hemi-Sync® tapes and participating in residential programs until
1996. I attended the GATEWAY VOYAGE® and subsequently completed GUIDELINES®,
LIFELINE®, EXPLORATION 27®, and the TRAINER DEVELOPMENT AND ASSESSMENT
PROGRAM.
As an art teacher, I quickly recognized Hemi-Sync’s potential in the classroom and gave a lot
of thought to introducing my adolescent scholars to both the technology and the creative
exercises. But the perceived problem of parental disapproval (every teacher’s nightmare)
seemed to be an insurmountable hurdle. I hemmed and hawed and even declared the task to
be impossible over the next couple of years, but the idea persisted. Not until I’d attended
Exploration 27 did a solution present itself. Of course, it was so obvious and simple that I
laughed at my inability to see it earlier.
Exploration 27 was a real treat. More than half of the participants were good friends from
previous programs, and I anticipated the great adventure of experiencing what Bob had called
“The Gathering” in Focus 35. Immediately upon my arrival in Focus 35, two personalities
greeted me. They were so totally alien that if I had encountered them outside the security of
my CHEC unit with trusted friends and trainers nearby, they would have been utterly terrifying.
Safe in familiar surroundings, I approached them with curiosity and openness rather than fear.
Heckle and Jekyll, as I irreverently named the pair, found me just as foreign. Over the next
couple of days we developed a mutual sense of trust through playful interaction. On the last
tape journey to Focus 35, one of them asked to merge with me to get a taste of physical
existence. I consented, and the merge was incredible. While the tape instructions were guiding
me back to C-1, I felt sad and uncertain. Would I be able to reconnect with them at home? As
my descent to mundane reality started, Heckle and Jekyll said I would receive a gift for
granting their request. The gift turned out to be a constantly available doorway into Focus 35.
This shimmering circle in the center of my field of vision is a small pinpoint when I’m focused in
C-1 and overlays my whole visual field when my awareness is expanded. The portal is a direct
line to the two gentle personalities residing at “The Gathering.”
I Get By, with a Little Help from My Friends
One might legitimately ponder the usefulness of a door leading to Focus 35. I considered that
myself and also began to wonder about functioning normally with one foot constantly in a
nonphysical dimension. My concern deepened upon discovering that Heckle and Jekyll could
also open the door from their side without knocking first. What if they dropped in to “chat” at an
inappropriate time? Was this gift a Pandora’s box? How does one return a nonphysical gift? I
didn’t have a nonphysical sale’s receipt!
As I began to really question my sanity (as though having two friends in another dimension
behind a shimmering door visible to my physical eyes was normal), a comforting presence
surrounded me. The presence delivered a ROTE whose core concept was “simple,
unconditional trust.” The message was accompanied by a flood of memories from early
childhood and the realization that my new nonphysical friends weren’t really new at all. As a
child I had interacted with others like them in an atmosphere of “simple, unconditional trust.”
The doorway had always been wide open. Somehow, in the process of growing up, I had shut
and locked the door and had eventually forgotten that it had ever existed.
Since that realization, I have had no problems living in two dimensions and have found ways to
utilize the Focus 35 connection to enhance both my artwork and my teaching. My first intent
was to successfully incorporate Hemi-Sync and the other TMI tools into my curriculum. I didn’t
think about how to do it, I just did it, trusting that the right approach would manifest from the
other side of the door. When I play Hemi-Sync tapes, lead the kids through guided journeys
into Focus 10/12, or prod them into discussions about consciousness and reality, the
words/methods flow to me from the portal. When parents question me about these methods,
the right responses emerge from my mouth. At first the kids just humored my crazy ideas,
tapes, and exercises; now they insist on them.
Our exercises depend on group dynamics and interaction. At the beginning of the second
semester of my photography class-after the students have a reasonable grasp of photographic
technique and are accustomed to hearing METAMUSIC® playing almost continuously—I stir
things up a bit. Out of the blue, I begin a class by getting very close to one of the students and
asking, “Who are you?” The following scenario is typical:
Student: “I’m Billy Brown.”
Me: “No, that’s your name. Who are you?” His classmates snicker and wiggle in their seats.
Student: “I’m a human being.”
Me: “No, that’s what you are. WHO are you?” The student and the class fall silent. (Aha!
They’re thinking.)
Me: “Okay, close your eyes and think about the last time you felt really angry. Try to remember
how it felt; then tell me what got mad?” The student and class exchange bewildered looks.
Me (stomping my left foot wildly on the floor): “Did your left foot get mad like this?” The whole
class bursts out laughing and joins the discussion. Most of the kids decide that they aren’t sure
who they are, but their “whoness” seems to be located in either their skull or the middle of their
chest. Every time we do this exercise, they ask me for the “answer.” My response is always,
“Heck, I don’t know. I was hoping you could tell me.”
After one or two weeks of similar activities, every student is thoroughly involved. Most of them
have never thought about such things or had an opportunity to ponder questions without
right/wrong answers. It’s a real joy to watch them shed their “need to be cool” and come alive.
An atmosphere of trust and community quickly develops. “Jocks” and “nerds” relate as equals
and realize that they have more commonalities than differences.
Next, I introduce the possibility of a “who” totally independent of their bodies or of having more
than one “who.”
Me: “Where are you?”
Student: “Sitting in photo class.”
Me: “Are you sure? Let’s try an experiment.” I put on some METAMUSIC, dim the lights, and
ask them to close their eyes and get as comfortable as possible. “Imagine that you’re at home
in your bedroom. Look around the room. What do you see? What’s on the walls? the floor?
Move into your closet. What’s there? Lie on your bed. What does the ceiling look like? What do
you hear? What do you smell? Rub your hands across your bedspread. What does it feel like?
Move into a drawer. What’s in it? Can you smell anything in the drawer or feel any textures?”
When they return, I ask for a show of hands if they successfully perceived their bedroom.
Everyone usually has some degree of success. Then we discuss how one sense generally
comes easier than the others, and they identify whether they are primarily seers, smellers,
hearers, or touchers. I ask, “During this exercise, where were you? in the classroom? in your
bedroom? in both?” The ensuing interchange becomes quite lively. Interestingly, their need to
arrive at a “right” answer has markedly diminished.
After a few weeks the class is comfortable with the odd goings-on and adept at relaxing with
METAMUSIC. At that point, they’re asked to create an imaginary space, much as we do during
Lifeline. I emphasize that there are no rules or limits. They are to create a place where they
feel comfortable, safe, and happy. I ask only that they include a blank wall somewhere in their
space. For the rest of the school year, each class starts with five to ten minutes of silence for
the students to relax in that special haven. They learn how to develop subject matter for their
photo assignments by staring at the blank wall and intending an idea to appear on it. This
approach has been very successful, and their efforts soon exhibit much more originality and
human interest. Being an extremely right-brained artsy type, I haven’t done a statistical
analysis of Hemi-Sync’s effect on student achievement. But based on twenty years of teaching
experience with over three thousand students, I can personally confirm that my classroom
atmosphere is calmer, quieter, and more productive. The students’ creativity is at an all-time
high. They are more willing to take risks and expose their feelings.
Open access to Focus 35 has also affected my life outside of the classroom, particularly my
art. Abstract symbols are the heart of my information-processing style. In college my
classmates took notes; I drew abstruse shapes to represent the lecture concepts. My scribbles
were nonsense to others, but they triggered total recall for me. Needless to say, no one ever
asked to borrow my notes! As a beginning art student, I struggled to convey abstract
ideas/experiences in a concrete visual way. Drawing and painting lifelike renditions of things
didn’t interest me. If I wanted a realistic picture of a tree, a camera could do the job better and
quicker. I envisioned expressing ideas, not things, and translating ideas into visual images that
were meaningful to others was very challenging. So I majored in pottery, the ultimate cop-out.
After all, a pot’s a pot.
Since my initial ventures into the Focus levels, a wealth of experiences have accumulated that
beg to be depicted. However, those experiences are usually not visual. They are more like a
“knowing.” My residential program and personal meditation journals are full of scribbled
imagery that vividly evokes the experience but is absolutely no help in re-creating it to share.
The gift from Focus 35 changed that. Now I need only remember the experience with the intent
of translating it visually and a picture appears through the “doorway.” As time permits, I am
producing the images that are “given” to me, and a few examples [see below]z accompany this
article. The response from fellow adventurers who resonate with the images suggests that I
may have the problem licked?with a little help from my friends!
Hemi-Sync® is a registered trademark of Interstate Industries, Inc.
© 2001 by The Monroe Institute