“moved.” The participants were asked to find or create a conflict-free The three participants in each group with the strongest or peaceful image that resonated through all of their senses. personalities profited most from the group process. Personality The “peaceful” image was not used systematically. Originally, it traits were greater determinants of how traumatic effects were was to be used during the day when the participant felt preoc- managed than the number of traumas or the degree of violence. cupied or afraid, as well as before falling asleep and after The two participants in each group with less intact person- Sleeping through the Rain as a pleasant way to fall asleep. The ality structures were often out of contact, late for appointments, three participants who used conflict-free imagery achieved the and absent without notification. Some of the women broke the desired effect of relaxation. It would be interesting to combine new rhythm they had learned because of pain and acute illness. the Hemi-Sync music CD with the conflict-free imagery and We emphasized the importance of starting again as soon as the to study whether there is a greater calming effect on the ner- pain lessened. vous system. The men’s interpreter was positively surprised that Arab men could talk together so well and be in the same room deal- Conclusions ing with something as personal as sleep problems. He surmised To draw generally applicable conclusions would demand
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Hemi-Sync® Journal 2005-3&4 (Summer/Fall) · 1 Hemi-Sync Journal 2005-3&4 Summer-Fall.pdf
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that the participants had developed a feeling of trust and felt more groups with more participants. Through the process with they could count on one another. these two groups, however, we found that most participants became more conscious of the effects of external events, stimu- Body therapy lants, and worries on their sleep, as well as how a calm environ- In both groups, participants who used the instructional CD ment for sleep and doing relaxing exercises can affect sleep to practice the exercises regularly at home experienced a greater quality. They learned that improving sleep depends on person- degree of calm and relaxation in their daily lives, and most of al effort. Because those with a well-integrated personality them experienced better sleep quality. Some described reduced structure appeared to benefit more from our approach, it would pain. The women’s feedback indicated a general development of be worthwhile to explore resiliency factors. body consciousness. Some men found it easier to do the exercis- Fasting for Ramadan and the world political situation— es together. Perhaps because of exposure to imprisonment and the attack in New York on September 11 followed by the war torture, they felt more secure in the group. The women were in Afghanistan—greatly influenced our clients. Their resultant usually better about practicing the exercises every day. anxiety and insecurities made it harder for them to focus on sleep improvement.
Theory These preliminary results were so promising, however, that The psycho-educational sessions were important in rela- we plan to continue the project with a few changes: trying addi- tion to convictions the men and women had beforehand. tional methods and improving those we have already used. Communicating that there could be differences and that Possibilities for cooperation have been discussed with a changes could occur during the process relaxed some of their newly established sleep laboratory in Copenhagen. stiff attitudes and beliefs. Trauma theory had the strongest res- onance with the men, possibly due to their greater exposure to Editors: Shirley Bliley, Ann Vaughan imprisonment and torture. Journal Layout & Design: Grafton Blankinship HEMI-SYNC® The HEMI-SYNC JOURNAL, a publication of The Monroe Institute®, an educational and Binaural-beat CD research organization dedicated to exploring This intervention and “conflict-free imagery” were used and developing the uses and understanding of human consciousness, offers current reporting only with the women’s group. METAMUSIC® Sleeping through on research and application of the Hemi-Sync® technology in a variety of professional fields. the Rain, a Hemi-Sync® CD developed by The Monroe The HEMI-SYNC JOURNAL is published by Institute®, was used to calm the thought processes and reduce The Monroe Institute, 365 Roberts Mountain Road, Faber, VA 22938-2317. Telephone: (434)