| Copyright 2006 Cole's Poetic License | | | | some amazing results. Dr. Richard |
| If you are in good health, you're | | | | Davidson of the W.M. Keck Laboratory for |
| balanced. If you are sick, you've lost | | | | Functional Brain Imaging and Behavior |
| some balance, temporarily I hope. | | | | studied the brain waves of some Tibetan |
| Hang with me here. | | | | Buddhist monks, including the Dalai |
| Picture yourself swinging between Yang | | | | Lama. He found unusually high amounts |
| and Yin over a precipice. When you stop | | | | of gamma brain wavesbrain waves that |
| swinging you see a ledge. You stand on | | | | increase compassion for others. |
| it, safely. | | | | Compassion comes out of good balance and |
| Now, if you're unfamiliar with Eastern | | | | good health. |
| medicine, consider the Aristotelian | | | | Bill Harris, Director of Centerpointe, |
| Mean. Aristotle advocated following a | | | | created a sound track designed to create |
| path between two extremes. If you swing | | | | the same brain waves experienced by the |
| too far in either direction you are apt | | | | Buddhist monks. I have benefited from |
| to get sick. | | | | Centerpointe's sound tracks. They put |
| Since I have skimmed the surface of | | | | my left and right brains in balance and |
| Eastern Philosophy, Aristotle, Stephen | | | | kicked out my shy bone by broadcasting |
| Hawkings' string theory, brain research, | | | | my words subliminally into each ear at |
| religions, meditation, and Western | | | | different rates of speed. |
| medical science, I am no authority, but | | | | Learning Strategies, Inc. has a program |
| I can show you how they relate to good | | | | called Spring Forest QiGong that teaches |
| health. | | | | you how to heal yourself whenever you |
| First, Yang refers to the masculine, | | | | get sick. Guess howbalancing energy! I |
| left-brained energy in everyone and Yin | | | | recommend the book, "Born a Healer" by |
| the right-brained, feminine energy. | | | | Chunyi Lin. |
| When these two are out of balance, | | | | Finally, there's nothing like Western |
| things go awry. Acupuncture is the | | | | medicine when you tear a meniscus or get |
| medical practice of releasing blocked | | | | a concussion, among other off-balance |
| flow of energy to regain balance and | | | | things. |
| good health. Obviously, it works. | | | | In our Western World fear hovers below |
| String theory, I think, says everything | | | | the surface. The more money and power |
| in the universe consists of strings of | | | | we have, the more fear. We are not |
| energy. Nothing is solid. (Phew, wish | | | | openly afraid. It shows up as anxiety |
| I could understand physics!) | | | | in our dreams and in our bodies. |
| Brain research shows three major parts | | | | Anxiety is catching, like bird flu. I |
| to the human brain: reptile, limbic, and | | | | spent a lifetime hunching up my |
| neo-cortex. We use our reptile brain | | | | shoulders, anxiously expecting to be |
| whenever we feel our survival | | | | yelled at for something I did wrong. My |
| threatened. (Explains continual | | | | shoulders finally gave out. I had them |
| warfare.) The limbic system, our | | | | replaced. Now they set off security |
| midbrain or early mammalian brain, | | | | alarms. Sweet revenge? |
| stores our emotions. We use the | | | | Since you have read this far, you will |
| neo-cortex for thinking, forward | | | | be fascinated by "Does Mind-Over-Body |
| planning and problem solving. All three | | | | Healing Work?" It's an article by an |
| brains are interdependent and function | | | | African professor of Western Medicine |
| together. The neo-cortex houses the | | | | that begins, "Life is energy, and all |
| right and left brain. When either of | | | | living beings are energy beings." |
| these is too far out of balance we | | | | Google the title. You may be surprised |
| suffer. | | | | by his thesis. |
| You may know, slightly, an accountant or | | | | Here's to your good balance and good |
| computer programmer who is so | | | | health. |
| left-brained he is practically a hermit. | | | | Evelyn Cole, MA, MFA, The Whole-mind |
| Or you may know an artist who is so | | | | Writer, |
| right-brained he forgets to pay his rent | | | | Coles chief aim in life is to convince |
| and is often in some kind of trouble. | | | | everyone to understand the power of the |
| I think most physicists use all three | | | | subconscious mind and synchronize it |
| brains in balance. I may be wrong. | | | | with goals of the conscious mind. |
| Experiments with meditation have shown | | | | |