Hemi-Sync® Journal 1991-3 (Summer)

‘As previously stated, the purpose of this study was to investigate the effects and preferred rate of application of Hemi-Sync as an autogenic tool which focuses the whole brain-mind in a singular state of awareness. Most important to this study was the learning and re-creating, from memory and at will, those states of relaxation, synchronization, and visual- ization needed for the game of golf. METHOD Subjects: The seven participants in the study, three fe- males and four males from middle-class suburbs of St. Louis, were volunteers from a population of golfers at a local country club. Subjects’ ages ranged from thirty-eight to fifty-six years and lengths of time as golfers ranged from fourteen months to fifteen years, with an average of seven years. Times per week playing golf ranged from two to five, with an average of three and one-half rounds per week. Data Collection: Five measures were used: 1. Pre- and postprogram eighteen-hole handicaps provided by the country club. 2. Each subject submitted three eighteen-hole-round scores (hole by hole) before and after the program. 3. The subjects completed a pre- and postevaluation psycho- logical symptoms checklist to describe the degree to which thoughts, emotions, and behaviors had bothered them during the last month. There were twelve thought questions, fourteen emotion questions, and twelve behavior questions. 4. Each subject kept a journal of his/her sessions to record the date and time of the session, what s/he thought about the session, how s/he felt during the session, and any postsession activity s/he would like to log, i.e., thoughts, emotions, be- haviors, and visualizations. 5. Each subject completed a postprogram questionnaire and a written evaluation of the program. Procedure: An introductory meeting to introduce the subjects formally to the program, and to collect the prepro- gram data was held. While the golfers learned to exercise and strengthen outer, physical aspects of their performance, they also learned to consider the internal, nonphysical aspects of motivation, self-control, and self-interference. Each subject was given four Hemi-Sync cassette tapes: he Way of Hemi-Sync, Energy Walk, H-PLUS Synchronizing, and Under Par Golf. Also provided were a stereo cassette player with headphones and batteries, a study requirement sheet, a written explanation of the golf program, a tape regimen sheet, a“Hemi-Sync Tape Taking Techniques” pamphlet, reprints of pages two and three of The Monroe Institute catalog describ- ing FFR and Hemi-Sync, and a note pad to record responses. Subjects were instructed to follow the regimen of tapes, including a minimum of two sessions per week. During the program, subjects met intermittently on the golf course to discuss their experiences with the tapes. Subse- quently, a postprogram meeting was held for debriefing. --- PAGE 4 (OCR) --- HEMI-SYNC™ JOURNAL RESULTS AND DISCUSSION The measuring instruments used provided a starting point, or base, on which to expand the use of the above theories and program. Any further research would require that data collection procedures be more carefully developed. The data collected in this study and any interpretations made do not necessarily reflect a true representative sample of the popula- tion, only the particular results and responses of the individu- als involved. The hypothesis presented has not been tested in accordance with accepted formal scientific procedures. The results found do have a particular educational significance and I encourage further research in this area. While the golfers learned to exercise and strengthen outer, physical aspects of their performance, they also learned to consider the internal, nonphysical aspects of motivation, self- control, and self-interference. The cooperative manner in which the men and women volunteered for this program suggested to me that the average sportsperson may be hun- grily seeking education in self-improvement. While six of the subjects openly expressed a desire and need to improve their games, one stated that he wanted to participate in the program for what he felt it could bring to his everyday life. Before the program, none of the subjects had used a Hemi-Sync autogenic tool. The use of visualization was known. to six of the subjects. One subject had previous experience of visualization in a group setting only. None of the subjects were familiar with autogenic exercises. During the introductory meeting, two of the subjects openly expressed skepticism toward the efficacy of the pro- gram and discounted any hope of immediate effectiveness. A common question among the group was “Are these tapes the same as subliminals?” My response was that the tapes do not contain subliminals, rather, low audibles of blended and se- quenced sound patterns. My assessment of the group was that, generally, they were unfamiliar with states of consciousness other than a usual ego or sleeping states. Therefore, I used terms such as “being in the zone” and “on target” to describe other states related to performance that they may have exper- ienced at one time or another. All seven subjects who began the program completed at least the minimum eight-tape session requirement. Three exceeded the requirement, two having completed eleven ses- sions and one having completed eighteen. Although one sub- ject recorded twelve sessions, three of those were not fully completed due to distracting noises, thoughts, and emotions. The three subjects completing the most sessions reported the greatest effects. The subjects who completed eleven sessions both showed a thirty-nine-percent change on the psychologi- cal symptom score and the subject who completed eighteen sessions showed a forty-eight-percent change. These percen- tage changes reflect point reductions in all three categories— thought, emotion, and behavior—indicating a lessening of self-interference. Of the two subjects completing eleven ses- sions and showing a thirty-nine-percent change, one lowered his handicap by one point and the other by two points. The subject completing eighteen sessions and showing a forty- eight-percent change raised her handicap by one point. To assess subjectively the various depths of consciousness the subjects seemed able to achieve, I looked to their journal entries. Using certain nomenclature from The Monroe Insti- tute which can be related to the use of Hemi-Sync exercises: Focus 3 is a state of profound relaxation; Focus 10 is a state of mind awake/body asleep; and Focus 12 is a state of conscious awareness expanded beyond the physical body. It appears that the two subjects completing eleven sessions learned to achieve a Focus 10 state during the tape exercises, while the subject completing eighteen sessions learned to achieve a Focus 12 state. One subject who completed nine sessions showed a reduction on the psychological symptom scores of seven percent while her handicap remained the same. Analysis of her journal suggested that she was able to achieve a Focus 3 state. The three remaining subjects fulfilled the prescribed mini- mum of eight tape sessions. Of these three, one subject lowered her handicap two points and decreased her psycho- logical symptom score by thirty-three percent, another sub- ject lowered his handicap one point and decreased his psychological symptom score by sixteen percent, and the third subject lowered his handicap one point and showed no percen- tage change. Journal analysis indicates that all three learned to achieve, at most, a conscious Focus 3 state. Of the four means of collecting data—handicaps, hole-by- hole scores, written evaluations/journals, and psychological symptom scores—I found the hole-by-hole and handicap scores to be the least reliable in terms of revealing any direct effects of the autogenic tool. The accumulation of play throughout the season alone could have affected the changes. ...the average sportsperson lacks knowledge of how tension, stress, fear of failure, and low self-esteem can be an interference to...performance... However, it is interesting that the greatest period of change for each subject occurred during and directly after the program. While the subjects looked primarily to the handicap reports as a measure of change, I focused mainly on the psy- chological symptom scores, the subjects’ postprogram evalua- tions, and their journals. Of these tools, I found the psycho- logical symptom test to be uniquely reflective of and specific to the areas of change. The journals were far more revealing then I had expected. Each of the subjects, in his/her own way, indicated a specific level of investment and particular type of response to the program. The hole-by-hole scores were of limited value except to show that three pre- and postprogram rounds were played. However, each subject’s unparred holes were of interest, as the postprogram scores on these unparred holes did reflect improvement in each player's most difficult area of play. For instance, the hole-by-hole scores of the subject whose handicap remained the same indicate that her hole-by-hole play improved. Her score cards showed consis- tent play at the par and bogey level for longer periods of time, only to “blow up” on one hole on the front and back nine, thus keeping her score at the usual handicap level. Coul e that the two blow-up holes, which had the effect of maintaining her handicap at the same level, were the result of an unconscious fear of success? FACTORS HANDICAPPING THE PROGRAM Asa result of administering this study and from my review of sports awareness skills literature, I have come to understand --- PAGE 5 (OCR) --- Summer 1991 that the average sportsperson lacks knowledge of how tension, stress, fear of failure, and low self-esteem can be an interfer- ence to the performance ofa game. The subject of self-interfer- ence was not reviewed with the subjects in any formal, detailed manner before the program. I believe the absence of such an in-depth briefing is the factor which most limited the subjects’ full understanding and acceptance of the program. The subjects openly and excitedly expressed an interest in the Hemi-Sync exercises used in the program. During the Energy Walk visualization exercise, many of the more “ra- tional types,” when hearing the voice on the tape asking them to “get up,” actually tried to rise from where they were lying at the time, an indication of how much literalization is ingrained within our culture. Although The Way of Hemi-Sync was rated one of the least-preferred tapes, the subjects felt it was necessary as an introduction to the unique sound technology. H-PLUS Synchronizing was the most popular and effective. Subjects recommended that the PREP exercise (side one of Synchro- nizing) be used before Energy Walk. Some of the subjects stated that they were disappointed that the Under Par Golf tape was placed so late in the program, and that it was a bit flat compared to the other tapes. It was my impression from the postprogram meeting that the subjects were somewhat frustrated with the number of encodings, or verbal cues, introduced on the tapes which they were asked to learn. The “Fore” encoding on the Under Par Golf tape was used most often, while other encodings were used sometimes or not at all. The greatest liability to the program was the sequence of tapes in the regimen and the suggested minimum of two sessions a week. As an improvement, | would suggest that a six-step regimen be used and that each subject do no less than three sessions per week, thereby completing the regimen within two weeks so that it can be repeated within the one- month time frame. CONCLUSIONS From a review of the results of this study, clearly effective- ness would be improved through implementing specific changes in the sequence of tapes and the rate of application. The use of Hemi-Sync tapes, when applied in a structured