unscientific. As Louis Pasteur, the great scientist once stated to a group of medical students, “Without theory, practice is but routine born of habit. Theory alone can bring forth and develop the spirit of invention. It is you especially who are obliged not to share the opinion of those narrow minds who reject everything in science which has no immediate application” (in Reik, 1948, p. ix). Hemi-Sync has many applications, and there are even more applications ready to be unveiled by us as we attempt to construct now theories. Based on my empirical research, I wish to propose two theories of Hemi-Sync, in this paper. But before introducing these theories, by merely reflecting on the obtained data and observations in our laboratory, I wish to address a few questions raised in the scientific community with regard to the effectiveness of Hemi-Sync. Dr. Lester Fehmi one of the foremost authorities in the field of applied psychophysiology and brain research once stated that he believed Hemi-Sync could drive the brain to enter certain states, but at the same time he emphasized, “...but it doesn’t teach you how to got there. It’s like a pill; in a way you don’t know how the pill works... and you may end up somewhat refreshed but if you had the option to got on a device that would allow you to learn to create the permissive conditions for the creation of this synchrony, then you’d be in much better shape, because then you could apply
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Hemi-Sync® Journal 1992-2 (Spring) · 2 The Hemi-Sync® Phenomenon - In Search of Empirical Theories.pdf
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that anywhere without the tools and begin to learn how to function in everyday activity while doing that” (in Hutchison, 1986, V. 222). Also, another prominent scientist, Dr. Elmer Green remarked that we should not try to drive the brain but to help people learn to achieve hemispheric synchronization without external sources of brain entrainment (in Hutchison, 1986). These are indeed legitimate and important questions that require scientific and data-based answers. Is Hemi-Sync a pill? Are we promoting dependency on a tape and a tape recorder for the rest of a patient’s life? Based on solid electoencephalographic data that we have collected in our neuropsychological laboratory, it is quite clear that after a brief period of exposure to Hemi-Sync frequencies, subjects can summon the beneficial effects of this technology at will without the use of any external sources of entrainment. In several studies, it was clearly demonstrated that subjects by merely counting up from one to eleven and simply saying, “access channel open” were able to achieve full bilateral synchrony (see Sadigh, 1990 and 1991a). Furthermore, unlike EEG biofeedback training which is limited to training in a specific state of consciousness (i.e. cognitive or somatic relaxation), Hemi-Sync can promote training in a variety of states ranging from active concentration to sleep. To those who have understandably questioned the effectiveness of Hemi-Sync and its potential to be more than
an external driver we offer our data and findings—let them speak for themselves. Theories of Hemi-Sync Based on the findings of several studies presented in the Hemi-Sync Journal (see Sadigh, 1990,1991a, and 1991b), I wish to propose two theories of Hemi-Sync namely, the State Enhancement Theory, and the Hemispheric Communication Theory. The State Enhancement Theory One important observation that we made in a number of Hemi-Sync studies was that subjects exposed to the same Hemi-Sync signals achieved bilateral synchronization at different frequencies. One explanation for this phenomenon is that Hemi-Sync goes beyond “blind” entrainment. That is to say, unlike other brain-entrainment modalities which force the brain to produce certain frequencies, Hemi-Sync actually collaborates with the brain to enhance its naturally dominant state. In summary, according to this theory: Within a relatively defined frequency range, Hemi-Sync guides the brain to enhance and synchronize itself at its own dominant and naturally occurring frequency and state. Should we be able to continue to support this theory with further research, we may conclude that Hemi-Sync is indeed a technology beyond entrainment and for that matter it is one of the safest modalities for health improvement and enhancement. The Hemispheric Communication Theory A second Hemi-Sync theory in that of the Hemispheric Communication Theory. Based on