CALMNESS AND WELLBEING ON REQUEST

Thesis

Submitted as the requirement

for the Degree

of

Master of Arts

Holistic Health – Lesley University

July 2006

by

Avigail Berg

Thesis guidance by

Dr. Tami Aylat-Yaguri

Lesley University Israel

Abstract

This thesis explores the process of creating an inner space of calmness, as a

self management tool to reduce stress, and as a possible basis for self-

hypnosis technique to change negative patterns of behavior.

The inner space of calmness is a mind-body sensation of harmony, balance and

tranquility. This thesis examines how special calming, harmonic music, together

with guided imagery that is based on personal associations not only create

effective inner environment of calmness but aids to keep it in memory as an

experience and assists to "operate it" on request.

Observations on three persons describe the process of creating the inner space

of calmness and its effectiveness on their life. The last part includes a

discussion of the benefits and limitations of the method and suggestion for

further research.

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 Table of contents

Introduction 4

1 Theoretical Review on Stress and Ways to Calmness Space 7

The Connection between Mind and Body 7

Stress and its influence on Mind-Body 12

Building an Inner Space of Calmness 14

Ways to create the Inner Space of Calmness 16

Meditation 16

Neurofeedback 17

Music as a powerful tool for creating Inner Space of Calmness 21

Binaural Entrainment Music 25

Imagery and guided imagery 31

Self-hypnosis with music 35

Summary of the theoretical review 37

2 Implementing Inner Calmness and Wellbeing on Request 38

The process of exploring, creating and activating the inner space of calmness 40

Wrap up of the guided imagery tour 50

Adding self-hypnosis 50

3 Observations 52

4 Discussion & Conclusion 77

Limitation of Having effective space of calmness 82

Suggested areas for further research and study 83

Bibliography 84

Webology 86

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Introduction

For more than 20 years, my personal interest has been to observe the

interactions between emotions, thoughts and body sensations and how they

affect wellbeing, self-management and behavior. It all started with my spiritual

connection to the philosopher and spiritual teacher J. Krishnamurti, who inspires

me with his perception about the limitation of thoughts, conditioning of

consciousness, and the possibility of evolution of the human mind, that might

bring an end to human sorrow and conflicts. All these years, I have meditated

with calming music, and noticed that special deep and harmonic music, together

with self-imagery of touring my inner organs and calming them, "paint" my

emotions, thoughts and inner organs with a "joyful and quiet sensation."

Through that process of calming my inner organs, thoughts and

emotions, I've created and experienced an inner space of calmness. I also

noticed that by holding a small crystal in my hand, as a trigger, I can "apply to

myself" that inner space of calmness whenever I choose. Actually, there was a

conditioning between holding the small crystal and the psycho-physiological

perception of the inner space of calmness that spread throughout my being. I

found that I am able to cope with stress, pain, tension and even get better when

I'm ill, when I enter the state of operating the inner space of calmness. I started

implementing the idea of inner space of calmness with my colleagues in a high-

tech company where I was a marketing manager. In the past year, I have used

it as an important tool with people during a coaching process .

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 In this thesis, I explore the components that together build a psycho-

physiological perception of Inner Space of Calmness. In addition, I examine the

process of activating it "on request" for the purpose of reducing stress and

improving wellbeing. The research questions derive from investigating the

conditions that create a state of holistic mind-body inner sense of relaxation and

harmony which I call "inner space of calmness." The external conditions that I

use for creating the inner environment - a special soft music and guided

imagery, are scientifically documented as having a positive effect on mind–body

health. The use of self-hypnosis has also been explored scientifically, as a self-

regulation tool for reconditioning behaviors.

The emphasis in this thesis is to look at the process of integrating

physical sensation, thoughts and emotions to a state of mind-body inner

environment of silence and harmony which is perceived by the individuals who

come to me for coaching. The coach (in this case, me) facilitates and assists

them in the process of building a personal psycho-physiological inner space of

calmness. Eventually, they can apply it to themselves, in order to reduce stress

whenever necessary. The ability to "operate the inner space" can give further

motivation for those people, to use the special music as an environment for self-

hypnosis in which they recondition compulsive behaviors and replace them with

more suitable ones.

The actual questions being focused in the thesis are the following:

1. What preparations are needed to awaken the awareness and attention for

perceiving inner space?

2. What musical characteristics are essential for deep relaxation?

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3. How can guided imagery, together with calming music, enhance the

perception of Inner Space of Calmness?

4. What is the process of mind control and positive conditioning to operate

calmness on request, and how effective is it?

5. How can self-hypnosis methods, combined with calming music, assist self

reprogramming of conditioned compulsive habits and unwanted behavior and

replace them with healthier and balanced ones?

The theoretical basis of the questions is described in Chapter Two, and the

process of actually reaching the Inner Space of Calmness is explored in

Chapters Three and Four.

I believe this thesis can contribute to the holistic understanding of the

interdisciplinary connection of mind-body perception related to self-

management solutions of stress, pain and compulsive behavior. The results of

the thesis can encourage trained people to seek a short-term training process

that will provide them with the compatible music and personalized guided

imagery for experiencing their inner space of calmness. A coach can facilitate

the process of building the inner space by helping to find, "the most appropriate
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music" together with building and guiding a personalized guided imagery, and

linking a special symbolic trigger to activate the inner space sensation. Later on,

the person who implements the inner space calmness environment can take it a

step further by using it as a basis for self-hypnosis and reconditioning negative

behavior. Furthermore, the Inner Space of Calmness environment creates inner

confidence, tranquility and balanced sensation in the mind-body and can also

be integrated with conventional psychiatric and psychological treatment and

enhance recovery process.

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about the mystery of calming harmonic music and its effect on mind-body, see page 21

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1. Theoretical Review on Stress and Ways to Calmness Space

The literature review is an overview of the theoretical background of the main

subjects of this thesis: the interrelation between mind and body in exact and

social sciences, stress and its effects on our mind and body; the significance of

Inner Space of Calmness; ways of creating Inner Space of Calmness (such as

meditation and biofeedback); exploring the mystery of music as a powerful tool

for creating Inner Space of Calmness; imagery and guided imagery and self-

hypnosis.

The Connection between Mind and Body

For centuries, healers in many cultures have believed that our thoughts,

feelings, sensations, and actions have a significant effect on our health and that

mind-body are holistically connected. Today, mind-body holistic approach has

been confirmed by the science of psychoneuroimmunology (PNI), which

focuses on the complex biochemical links between the mind, the brain and the

immune system.

By understanding these connections, we are better able to protect our

health. We feel emotions in our bodies: we “burn” with anger, “tremble” with

fear, and get “choked up” with sadness. Thoughts and emotions cause changes

in the body: when we think about a sad story, tears fill our eyes. We imagine

squeezing a lemon into our mouth and our mouth fills up with saliva. And when

our body is attacked by a virus or a bacterium, many psychological and physical

factors work together to determine whether or not we get sick. Complex

pathways run between the brain and the body’s nervous, endocrine, circulatory

and immune systems. The entire body is literally “wired” by the brain but it is

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actually a two-way interaction and it is more complex because it is the mind

(conscious and unconscious) that influences our thoughts, emotions and

behavior. Positive emotions can apparently trigger a biochemical response that

promotes cardiac health and boosts the immune system. Negative emotions

can set off a complex chain of activity that disrupts the body’s homeostasis,

harmony and balance, run down its immune functions, and increases blood

pressure and heart rate. In trying to understand the complexity of the

interactions between mind and body, let's investigate what health actually is.

The Oxford Dictionary offers the following definitions: Health - a state of

being well in body or mind; condition of body: Healthy n. having or conductive to

good health: "Heal" - restore to health; cure.

The scientist and philosopher Fritjof Capra extends the view that: "Health is

really a multidimensional phenomenon involving interdependent physical,

psychological, and social aspects" (1982, p. 353). Later Capra states, "Health,

then is an experience of wellbeing resulting from a dynamic balance that

involves the physical and psychological aspects of the organism; as well as its

interactions with its natural and social environment" (1982, p.354).

The Oxford Dictionary's mention of the body and the mind in the context

of defining health has a link with the important concept in Capra's statement in

his notion that health is dependent on the dynamic balance between the

physical and psychological aspects of an organism. Another way to talk about

this is in terms of the "body" and the "mind" and to discuss the nature of the

interconnections and dynamic balance in the body-mind or mind-body status of

an organism or more specifically a person. The Oxford Dictionary's definition of

the word "heal" states that "to heal" is to "restore to health." Inherent in this

definition to "restore" is the indication that the natural balance has been

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disturbed and it needs to be restored in order for health to be experienced. Also

implied in this definition is that health is an innate or inherited state, the

template as it were of how things should be; that there is an intelligence at work

here that is part of a broader, more universal, intelligence that we share with all

things in nature.

This innate intelligence is described by Lonsdorf, Butler and Brown

(1993): internal harmony is perhaps the most salient feature of all living

systems, expressing the intelligent growth and regulation of all aspects of

nature, from the blossoming of a rose, to the rising of the tides, to the

movement of the planets. From cell to galaxies, all matter in life is arranged to

uphold and express nature's intelligence in a vast universe of balance and

cohesion. In this way the organized intelligence of the universe is a collection of

many forms or bits of expressed intelligence, all life - but all organized in

different ways... In humans, the material essence of nature's intelligence is

called DNA. Health is therefore the natural optimal status of a person, and a

disturbance in the dynamic balance or internal homeostasis between the

physical, psychological, social and spiritual aspects of a person contributes to

ill-health.

Thus, the essence of healing is to do with re-establishing this dynamic

balance between the multi-dimensional makeup of the organism or person.

Intrinsic in this approach is the belief that the organism has the capacity and

capability to heal itself when given the right type of support to do so; that self-

correction is an inherent given for the organism once it is alerted to an

imbalance. It is by understanding this "near-miraculous ability" of the organism

to heal itself that is vital in this equation, just as when there is an injury to soft

tissue or a fracture of a bone, the process of healing occurs almost immediately

9
without any conscious involvement on the part of the person who has sustained

the injury.

This ability to heal is therefore an integral part of the body's inherent

wisdom. Recognizing this healing potential is fundamental in being able to

consciously support the body in what it is in fact designed to do. The Inner

Space of Calmness creation is an inner environment to reach that natural

wisdom that for various reasons was off tune. This environment is the ground

to explore the body-mind or mind-body connections in some detail. The

increasing information available from researchers such as Candice Pert (Rossi,

1993, pp. 148, 157, 229), in the field of psychoneuroimmunology (PNI), defined

as "psycho" for mind, "neuro" for the neuroendocrine system (the nervous and

hormonal systems), and "immunology" for the immune system. The field shows

us the ability to communicate with the unconscious mind through our conscious

thoughts, sensations and emotions.

Research over the past twenty years has seen the development of

psychoneuroimmunology, which is based primarily upon the neuroscience of

the central nervous system, the neuroendocrine system and the immune

system and their inter-relationships. The central nervous system is a huge array

of connections throughout the body incorporating sympathetic and

parasympathetic systems. It allows the brain to send information throughout the

body via chemicals generally referred to as information substances (IS). It was

once thought that the brain sent out these information substances to respond to

the various problems in the body and that the communication was that of a one-

way direction. What has become clear is that the central nervous system

virtually controls the body's defense mechanisms. The holistic psychological

and philosophical mind-body perception gets its evidence from research in the

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interdisciplinary field of psychoneuroimmunology. Involved in applied research

into mind-body interconnectivity are researchers in several scientific and

medical disciplines such as psychology, neuroscience, immunology,

pharmacology, psychiatry, behavioral medicine, infectious diseases,

endocrinology and rheumatology. They are interested in the interactions

between the nervous system and the immune system, and the relationship

between behavior and health. Every thought, emotion, idea or belief has a

neurochemical consequence.

A Harvard study in the 1970s discovered receptors on our immune cells

for neuropeptides. Neuropeptides are chemicals produced by the brain, which

vary with our emotions (Psychosomatic Medicine 46, 1984). The results of this

study point to the simple fact that our immune system is listening to our mental

talk. How we think is how we feel. When someone tells us that we're only as old

as we feel, we should believe it, for we are the masters of our immune system.

There is no better cure for anything than a good attitude. The perception of

sensing a psycho-physiological inner calming space and the ability to keep it in

one's memory as a defined experience derives from a mind-body approach. A

person's ability to activate the Inner Space of Calmness on request, and by

doing so manage psycho-physiological wellbeing, is also based on this

approach. As a theoretical overview, it is important to mention

psychoneuroimmunology interdisciplinary research as an important example of

mind-body approach from the western medical view.

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Stress and its influence on Mind-Body

The emphasis in this thesis is to explore the process of integrating physical

sensation, thoughts and emotions into a state of mind-body inner environment

of silence and harmony, which I call the inner space of calmness. The process

includes awareness and memorizing that experience by the person, in a way

that s/he can eventually apply it on request, in order to reduce stress, whenever

needed. The theoretical overview of stress and how it influences the mind-body

is the background to understanding why Inner Space of Calmness is an

effective inner environment to retune and rebalance the natural health

homeostasis.

The endocrinologist Dr. Hans Selye did groundbreaking research in the

1930's, developing a theory on how mental and/or physical stress is transuded

into "psychosomatic problems" by the hormones of the "hypothalamic-pituitary-

adrenal axis" of the endocrine system (Rossi. 1993, p. 28). Dr. Selye's research

clearly shows the link between prolonged stress and a disturbance in the

natural dynamic balance of an organism or person leading to ill-health. The

physiological changes that occur as a result of stress can obviously be

extremely detrimental over time.

Multitasking has become a part of our everyday lives. At any given time,

most of us are actively working on, or overseeing, a handful of projects and

problems simultaneously, making it nearly impossible to slow down and relax.

From the moment we wake up we have our "to do list" – at home, at work, with

our parents, children, friends, community. Even if we "steal" some moments for

ourselves, go to the beach, or take a walk, thoughts and emotions take over our

mind and in a nonstop way continue the processing of "solving problems" with

endless scenarios in our mind.

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 At night when our body and mind finally calm down, dreams take over.

Sometimes we wake up from a dreadful dream, sweating and stressed, with our

first breath in the morning and it follows us all the day long. Everyday stress

doesn’t seem to be a health hazard, and we are not always aware of its

accumulative effect. One day, with no further notice, if we don’t learn to reduce

it, it can become chronic, taking the form of major life disruptions and

suppressing the immune system. It also can trigger allergies or a recurrence of

herpes, and can impair cardiovascular health by raising blood pressure and

heart rate.

The question is how can awareness together with stress management

tools, bring back harmony, homeostasis and balance? Where do we start? In

the book “The Relaxation Response", (Benson, 2000) based on studies at

Boston’s Beth Israel Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Dr. Benson

discusses pragmatic easy relaxation techniques, which have immense physical

benefits, from lowering blood pressure to a reduction in heart disease. The book

explains how anyone can benefit from learning and perfecting relaxation

techniques. In doing so, Dr. Benson created a book that is relied on by

healthcare professionals and authorities to treat the negative effects of stress.

By learning to invoke the relaxation response once or twice a day for just ten

minutes at a sitting, we can effectively lower blood pressure and gain tranquility

in our emotional life, making us more successful both in the workplace and at

home. Dr. Benson's Relaxation Response is an example of a technique that can

be implied as part of a daily awareness behavior of preventing accumulating

stress symptoms. The next paragraph will introduce us to the concept of Inner

Space of Calmness as an environment that retunes self mind-body balance

besides reducing stress.

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Building an Inner Space of Calmness

The Inner Space of Calmness is a bio-psychological sensation of relaxation and

a harmonious feeling. Breathing is deep and smooth. The body organs are

comfortable and there is no focused pain in any of them. The mind is quiet and

alert. There is a feeling of inner intelligence and confidence of a whole body-

mind organism. There is a feeling of calm consciousness where emotions and

thoughts are silent - like a calm clear lake. There is a sensitive ability to observe

inner processes of perception such as paying attention to the interrelation

between thoughts, emotions and sensations, and to outside triggers (such as

sound, objects, people) and how they affect the body and mind. Inner Space of

Calmness is the inner environment of mind-body in which a person can

recharge healing energies. It is a friendly effective environment to manage and

reduce stress psycho-physiological negative effects.

In his numerous books, the philosopher and spiritual teacher, Jidu

Krishnamurti, talks over and over again about inner silence and harmony as the

basis for mind-body intelligence (Krishnamurti. 1973, p. 368).

"Can thoughts be completely silent and only function when necessary?

When one has to use technological knowledge, in the office, when one is talking

and so on - and the rest of the time, be absolutely quiet? The more there is

space and silence, the more it can function logically, sanely, healthily with

knowledge…. Thoughts which are the response of memory, of knowledge,

experience of time is the content of consciousness; thought must function with

knowledge, but it can only function with highest intelligence, when there is

space and silence - when it functions from there…. "How is that mind to be

completely still? Harmony is stillness. There is harmony between the

body, the heart and the mind. Complete harmony - not discord. Where the

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body has its own intelligence when it is sensitive, alive and not spoilt, it

has its own intelligence…"

Krishnamurti talked of the limitation of thoughts. How the chatting mind

always wants to find solutions and explanations but because it is limited to

grasp reality and is conditioned by society and culture, there is always a gap

between "what is" and "what is wished to be." this endless conflicts add fuel to

stressed conditions in our life. Krishnamurti says that the silence of the mind is

a state that thoughts and emotions cannot experience. He says that emptiness

and silence are the basis for a new order of awareness from which health can

evolve.

Deepak Chopra, a physician who integrates western and eastern

medicine, a philosopher, coach and writer - also relates to the silent mind in his

book "Unconditional Life - Mastering Forces that Shape Personal Reality."

Talking with a cancer person, he says: "I wanted you to sit quietly for a moment

in order to experience if only vaguely the state of inner silence. Thoughts come

and go in this silence. But when a thought isn’t present and there is no impulse

of fear, no strong memory or temptation to act, the mind is just by itself, being

itself. At that exact second, there is a choice to have the next thought or

emotion." (Chopra.1991, p.107)

In my experience as a coach, the calmness space is the inner

environment where biological organs, thoughts and emotions are harmonious

with each other. The senses are sharp, awakened and alert but in a "silent

mode," not in a "stressed mode." Potential energy can be used for clear inner

and outer observation and for reconditioning bio-psychological attitudes and

behavior such as reducing stress and behaving in a relaxed way in stressed

situations.

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Ways to create the Inner Space of Calmness

The natural question is how to reach an Inner Space of Calmness? What are

the outer triggers or tools, together with inner conditions that can bring about

the inner environment of body-mind calmness? There are many methods, such

as yoga or sport that enable the release of stress and bring about physical,

emotional and mental sensations of relaxation. In many such methods, the

Inner Space of Calmness is not an aim, but a side-effect. Meditation and

biofeedback are alternative options for sensing, memorizing and operating the

Inner Space of Calmness and I now relate to them, before suggesting the

benefits of calming music together with guided imagery.

Meditation

For over 60 years, Krishnamurti talked with people, scientists, students and

teachers about freeing the mind, meditation and humanity. Krishnamurti didn't

teach "the how:" he said that every one has to experience the truth for himself.

He talked of quieting the mind through observation and attention:

"Meditation is something extraordinary, if you know how to do it. I am going to

talk a little about it. First of all, sit very quietly; do not force yourself to sit quietly,

but sit or lie down quietly without force of any kind. Do you understand? Then

watch your thinking. Watch what you are thinking about. You find you are

thinking about your shoes, your saris, what you are going to say, and the bird

outside to which you listen; follow such thoughts and enquire why each thought

arises. Do not try to change your thinking. See why certain thoughts arise in

your mind so that you begin to understand the meaning of every thought and

feeling without any enforcement. And when a thought arises, do not condemn it,

do not say it is right, it is wrong; it is good, it is bad. Just watch it, so that you

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begin to have a perception, a consciousness which is active in seeing every

kind of thought, every kind of feeling. You will know every hidden secret

thought, every hidden motive, every feeling, without distortion, without saying it

is right, wrong, good or bad. When you look, when you go into thought very very

deeply, your mind becomes extraordinarily subtle, alive. No part of the mind is

asleep. The mind is completely awake. That is merely the foundation. Then your

mind is very quiet. Your whole being becomes very still. Then go through that

stillness, deeper, further – that whole process is meditation.

(http://www.katinkahesselink.net/kr/meditate.htm, June 15, 2006)

There are many ways and methods of meditation such as Zen

meditation, Vipassana, and Transcendental Meditation. Most of them are

characterized by the aim of quieting the "chatting mind" and getting connected

to inner peace. The majority require long periods of discipline and practicing in

order to reach a peaceful mind in a way that can reduce stress on request.

More popular western methods of creating an Inner Space of Calmness are

biofeedback and neurofeedback.

Neurofeedback

Neurofeedback - which is the biofeedback of the brain waves and its influence

on the body - was applied to consciousness research in the 1950s by Joe

Kamiya in the United States and by C. Maxwell Cade in 1960s England. Cade,

an electronics genius and Zen meditation master, invented a unique EEG

biofeedback device called the "Mind Mirror," and took a more unrestrained

approach to consciousness research than did Kamiya. Cade wanted to trace

the development of consciousness, so he measured the brain waves of

spiritually advanced yogis during meditation and in waking states. He

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discovered a common brainwave pattern and the key characteristics of the

"awakened mind": heightened mental clarity, creativity, insight, intuition and

spiritual connection. Cade found that people with an "awakened mind" enjoy an

open, flowing and highly creative state.

(http://www.biomonitors.com/MaxCadeTitle.htm , May 22, 2006)

In 1973, the humanistic psychologist Anna Wise began to work with

Cade in London. Over the next 30 years Wise conducted people into meditative

states while they were hooked up to the Mind Mirror. Her discoveries profoundly

advanced our understanding of consciousness, how it works and its direct

influence on the body-mind. In 1981, recognizing the ability of biofeedback

meditation to awaken and evolve the mind and body, Wise returned to the

United States and expanded beyond Cade’s focus on spirituality and

consciousness.

For close to twenty years she measured the brain waves of artists,

composers, dancers, inventors, mathematicians, scientists, CEOs and

presidents of corporations. She saw what Cade had noticed, and more: people

with the awakened, high-performance mind were high achievers, often at the

top of their professions. They are excited, enthusiastic and successful people

enjoying an "aha" experience of life. No matter what their spiritual orientation,

they know how to quiet the mind, go within and master their brain waves for

insight, healing, creativity and a happy, satisfying life. These awakened

Westerners possessed the same qualities of mastery as the yogis and swamis

measured by Max Cade. As Wise explains in her books, people enjoying the

qualities of mastery are compassionate, empathetic and helpful. They are

warm, kind, peaceful and balanced people who are perceptive, insightful and do

not criticize, judge or blame others. Nor does the awakened person attempt to

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control the thoughts or actions of other people. A person with an awakened

mind is naturally devoted to love and service arising from a deep, heartfelt

devotion to humanity and God, or divine consciousness. Over the past 30

years, Wise has used biofeedback meditation training to research and develop

in people this advanced state of consciousness. Wise pioneered relaxation and

mind-expansion techniques that enable people to experience biofeedback’s "felt

sense of state" to recreate the state of consciousness that is optimal for the

moment. (http://www.toolsforwellness.com/annawise.html, May 23, 2006)

Neurofeedback, then, is actually brainwave training. It is widely believed

to increase the stability and flexibility of the brain, or its ability to move between

mental states. The healthier the neurons, the healthier the systems they govern.

While most brain wave research draws on studies of epilepsy, Attention Deficit

Disorder (ADD) and alcoholism, the anecdotal evidence, stories and data

gathered by thousands of well-trained, intelligent professionals is compelling,

according to Jim Robbins, author of "A Symphony in the Brain: The Evolution of

the New Brain Wave Biofeedback." Of particular interest is a theory posed by

electroencephalogram (EEG) biofeedback practitioners who believe that the

health of the body derives from the health of the brain and/or central nervous

system. The theory maintains that a chronically over-aroused nervous system

produces physical and mental stress, anxiety, agitation, impulsivity and anger.

Hyper-arousal is thought to be the cause of nervous system burnout and

physical conditions like chronic fatigue syndrome, among others. A chronically

under-aroused nervous system produces some types of depression and lack of

motivation.

Brain instability produces bipolar disorder, migraines, panic attacks,

motor and vocal tics, vertigo, teeth-grinding, epilepsy and other problems. In the

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above model, nearly all health problems flow from over-arousal, under-arousal

or instability in the central nervous system. When any of these conditions

causes too much stress in the brain and body, predisposed conditions flare up:

joint pain, sleeplessness, migraines, panic attacks, depression, anxiety,

attention problems and so forth. This theory could conceivably hold the secret to

the body-mind connection:

1) A stressed central nervous system "shorts out" and causes problems.

2) Neurofeedback corrects them by relaxing the body and rebalancing the

brain, which reconnects and heals the central nervous system (CNS); the CNS

can then work to re-coordinate a large number of interconnected systems within

the body and mind.

Researcher would agree that neurofeedback is all about restoring the

body-mind balance that creates health. The main drawback is that when one

learns these states, continual reinforcement is necessary for similar continued

ability, day by day. Psychologically, biofeedback gives scientific objective

criteria to the Inner Space of Calmness. I would say it’s the border between

alpha and theta brain waves, when the state of mind is awareness in deep

relaxation. But again, as mentioned in the meditation method, biofeedback

demands discipline and systematic training with a computerized system that is

daunting for many people who are not yet familiar with computers; additionally,

it does not provide a solution for a large number of users.

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Music as a powerful tool for creating Inner Space of Calmness

We saw that meditation and biofeedback are effective tools that can lead people

to a deep inner sense of calmness. But the two tools need long periods of

exercise, motivation and discipline to create and encode it in memory. The idea

of an Inner Space of Calmness is not only to sense silence in "real time" but

also to grasp the harmony and relaxation feelings of one's inner organs,

observe the silence of thoughts and emotions to that extent, that people are

able to encode this bio-psychological inner space of calmness and apply it to

themselves – on request. Later, I will present how guided imagery and self-

hypnosis methods are essential for the process of deepening and encoding the

Inner Space of Calmness in memory or in the subconscious. At this stage,

though, we will explore the mystery around sound, and specifically music as a

powerful tool for creating the inner bio-psychological calmness space

environment.

All over the world and throughout history, sound and music have a strong

effect on human beings' mood. Harmonic calm music usually makes us happier.

It seems as if harmonic quiet music has a direct positive effect on our cells. Not

only does our physical body relax with calming harmonic music but our thoughts

and emotions are soothed as well. That sort of music - and many classical

music symphonies among them - bypasses the "chatting left brain" and creates

an inner peaceful environment to reduce stress. Here is an historical review

that was gathered over the years around the mystery of sound and music:

Sound has been used as a healing force for thousands of years. Ancient

civilizations used sound for healing. In the Bible we are told that David played

his harp to lift King Saul’s depression. Egyptian papyri over 2,600 years old

refer to incantations as cures for infertility and rheumatic pain. The ancient

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Greeks believed music had the power to heal body and soul. Pythagoras used

special songs and incantations with particular melodies and rhythms, to cure

diseases of the body and mind. Pythagoras believed that if one listened to

music on a daily basis it would improve and enrich one’s health. Pythagoras

used music to dispel psychic traumata among his disciples. He believed that the

effect of daily diatonic chromatic and harmonic melodies would eliminate

negative emotions and restore his disciples to a calm condition just as if the

music was medicine. (Meyer, Neff & Garfield-O’Brien, 2003).

What is behind sound healing? Sound healing is the therapeutic

application of sound frequencies to a person's body / mind with the intention of

bringing them into a state of harmony and health. The dictionary defines

"harmony" as "congruity of parts to their whole or to one another." As mentioned

before, "health" is defined as "the state of being bodily and mentally vigorous

and free of disease."

Dr. Alfred Tomatis, a French ear, nose & throat specialist, has devoted the

past 50 years to understanding the ear and its function. He believes that the ear

is the most important of all our sense organs. It controls the body’s sense of

balance, rhythm and movement and is the conductor of the entire nervous

system. Tomatis believes that high frequency sounds (3,000 Hz and above)

activate the brain and affect cognitive functions such as thinking, spatial

perception and memory. Listening to these sounds increases our attentiveness

and concentration. When an opera singer causes a glass to vibrate with her

voice, she has matched the resonant frequency of the glass. As the singer

increases the volume of her sound, the resonance becomes too great for the

forces that hold the glass together, and it shatters. Modern medicine now uses

sound waves to break up kidney stones and gallstones.

22
 Every organ, every bone, every cell in the body has its own resonant

frequency. Together they make up a composite frequency like the instruments

of an orchestra. When one organ in the body is out of tune, it affects the whole

body. Through sound healing it may be possible to bring the diseased organ

into harmony with the rest of the body, hence avoiding the need for drugs or

surgery. (http://www.tomatis.com/English/index.htm, April 22,2006).

In the 1960s Hans Jenny, a Swiss scientist, spent over ten years

conducting experiments to discover the effects of sound waves on materials

placed on metal plates vibrated with sound. Materials such as glycerin, mercury,

gel, powder and iron filings were used. He photographed the patterns created,

and found that low frequency sounds produced simple geometric shapes in the

materials. As the sound frequency was increased, these simple forms would

break up and more complex patterns would appear. The sound "OH" would

produce a perfect circle. The sound "OM" produced a pattern that resembles

the Shri Yantra; the ancient mandala for "OM" used in India for thousands of

years. Jenny came to the conclusion that sound creates form and that the

entire human body had its own sound made up of all the sounds of its cells,

tissues and organs. (http://www.cymaticsource.com, April 23,2006)

Fabien Maman, a French professional jazz musician, noticed that certain

musical keys had an energizing effect on both the musicians and the audience.

Fabien worked with the French physicist Joel Sternheimer. Sternheimer had

discovered that elementary particles vibrate at frequencies in accordance with

musical laws. They found that body tissue, organs and acupuncture meridians

each have a musical note. A few years later, Fabian met Grimal, a senior

researcher at the National Centre for Scientific Research in Paris. They devoted

a year-and-a-half to studying the effects of sound on normal and malignant

23
cells. Using drums, gongs, flutes, guitar, bass and a xylophone, they

investigated the effects of sound on healthy blood cells, hemoglobin, and the

"Hela" cancer cell from the uterus. They found that even at 30-40 decibels the

sound always produced noticeable changes in the cells. As the sounds

progressed up the musical scale there would be an "explosion" of the cancer

cells at a certain frequency as the sound traveled outward from the centre of the

cell to its outer membrane. The experiment yielded the most dramatic results

when the human voice was used. Fabian reached the conclusion that in the

human voice there is an added element which cannot be found in any other

instrument. In his view, the human voice carries its own spiritual resonance.

This difference, evident from the photographs, is what makes the voice the most

powerful healing instrument – particularly when the person needing the healing

produced the sounds with his or her own voice. (Goldman, 1992).

Don Campbell, in his book "The Mozart Effect," (Campbell, 1997) shows

how music, particularly Mozart’s, has all kinds of beneficial effects for human

health. Scientists suggest that listening to Mozart helps us to improve our

powers of concentration and enhances our ability to make intuitive leaps; by

organizing the firing pattern of neurons in the cerebral cortex.

Fetuses prefer Mozart and Vivaldi to other composers. When pregnant

mothers listened to Mozart and Vivaldi, the babies’ heart rates invariably

steadied and kicking declined. Rock music ‘drove most fetuses to distraction’

and they ‘kicked violently’ when it was played to their pregnant mothers. Slower

tempo music slows our breathing rate. The human heartbeat will tend to match

the rhythm of music. The pitch and rhythm of music influence the limbic

system, affecting our emotions. Scientists concluded that preferred music "may

elicit a profound positive emotional experience that can trigger the release of

24
hormones, which can contribute to a lessening of those factors which enhance

the disease process." Music is now used to reduce the pain and anxiety of

persons undergoing dental treatment and surgical operations. In a study of

59,000 persons, 97% of them stated that music really helped them to relax in

the post-operative situation and during surgery under local anesthesia.

We can see that from every aspect of life, philosophy, spirituality and

science, when sounds and music are harmonic and calm, they touch the mind

and body positively. While exploring music that can be "user friendly" in sensing

an Inner Space of Calmness, I learned about binaural entrainment music.

Binaural entrainment music

One of the strengths of neurofeedback that was mentioned before is the

person's ability to reach alpha brain waves (which are a sign of relaxed body

and mind in awakened consciousness) by using a self-regulation technique. So

I searched for music that can be rapidly effective for most people as a basic

environment tool for creating bio-psychological inner calm space, and in fact

creating alpha brainwaves in people, independent of the need to use a

computerized biofeedback system. Surfing the web, reading and investigating

the subject, I learned about the concepts of binaural and entrainment on which

the HEMI-SYNC technology of The Monroe Institute, founded by Robert A.

Monroe, is based.

Binaural beats are auditory brainstem responses that originate in each

of the brain hemispheres. They result from the interaction of two different

auditory impulses, originating in opposite ears, below 1000 Hz and which differ

in frequency between 1 and 30 Hz (Oster, 1973). For example, if a pure tone of

400 Hz is presented to the right ear and a pure tone of 410 Hz is simultaneously

25
presented to the left ear, an amplitude modulated standing wave of 10 Hz, the

difference between the two tones is experienced as the two wave forms mesh in

and out of phase within the superior olivary nuclei. This binaural beat is not

heard in the ordinary sense of the word (the human range of hearing is from 20-

20,000 Hz). It is perceived as an auditory beat and theoretically can be used to

entrain specific neural rhythms of that external stimulus. Therefore, in the

example above, the 10 Hz which is an alpha wave range can be utilized as a

consciousness management technique to sense calmness.

The binaural-beat appears to be associated with an electroencephalographic

(EEG) frequency-following response in the brain (3). Many studies have

demonstrated the presence of a frequency-following response to auditory

stimuli, recorded at the vertex of the human brain (top of the head). This EEG

activity was termed "frequency-following response" because its period

corresponds to the fundamental frequency of the stimulus (Smith, Marsh, &

Brown, 1975 in http://www.monroeinstitute.com/content.php?content_id=21, May 22,

2006).

Binaural-beat stimulation appears to encourage access to altered states

of consciousness. Uses of audio with embedded binaural beats that are mixed

with music result in relaxation, meditation, stress reduction, pain management,

improved sleep quality, and decrease in sleep requirements. The resonant

entrainment of oscillating systems is a well-understood principle within the

physical sciences. If a tuning fork designed to produce a frequency of 440 Hz is

struck (causing it to oscillate) and then brought near to another 440 Hz tuning

fork, the second tuning fork will begin to oscillate. The first tuning fork is said to

have entrained the second or caused it to resonate.

26
 The physics of entrainment apply to biosystems as well. Of interest

here are the electromagnetic brain waves. The electrochemical activity of the

brain results in the production of electromagnetic wave forms which can be

objectively measured with sensitive equipment. Brain waves change

frequencies based on neural activity within the brain. Because neural activity is

electrochemical, brain function can be modified through the introduction of

specific chemicals (drugs), by altering the brain’s electromagnetic environment

through induction, or through resonant entrainment techniques which is done in

our case with the binaural bits.

Binaural beats were discovered in 1839 by a German experimenter, H.

W. Dove. The human ability to "hear" binaural beats appears to be the result of

evolutionary adaptation. When signals of two different frequencies are

presented, one to each ear, the brain detects phase differences between these

signals. "Under natural circumstances a detected phase difference would

provide directional information. The brain processes this anomalous information

differently when these phase differences are heard with stereo headphones or

speakers. A perceptual integration of the two signals takes place, producing the

sensation of a third "beat" frequency. The difference between the signals waxes

and wanes as the two different input frequencies mesh in and out of phase. As

a result of these constantly increasing and decreasing differences, an

amplitude-modulated standing wave - the binaural beat - is heard.

The binaural beat is perceived as a fluctuating rhythm at the frequency of

the difference between the two auditory inputs. When the brain is entrained to

lower frequencies and awareness is maintained, a unique state of

consciousness emerges. This state is often referred to as hypnogogia "mind

27
awake / body asleep." Synchronized brain waves have long been associated

with meditative and hypnogogic states, and audio with embedded binaural

beats has the ability to induce and improve such states of consciousness. The

reason for this is physiological. Each ear is "hardwired" (so to speak) to both

hemispheres of the brain (Rosenzweig, 1961). Each hemisphere has its own

olivary nucleus (sound-processing center) which receives signals from each

ear. In keeping with this physiological structure, when a binaural beat is

perceived there are actually two standing waves of equal amplitude and

frequency present, one in each hemisphere. So, there are two separate

standing waves entraining portions of each hemisphere to the same frequency.

The binaural beats appear to contribute to the hemispheric synchronization

evidenced in meditative and hypnogogic states of consciousness. Brain function

is also enhanced through the increase of cross-colossal communication

between the left and right hemispheres of the brain.

The binaural beats used in the creation of Hemi-Sync are generated by

the auditory introduction of sound frequencies that differ by a very small

amount. For example, if a frequency of 100 Hz is blended with a frequency of

107 Hz, a 7 Hz binaural beat will be heard. The listener perceives this as a

wavering sound or warble tone. When one frequency is introduced to the right

ear and the second is placed in the left ear, the brain integrates the two sounds.

The binaural beat can be identified at a cortical level through an electro-

encephalogram (EEG). Because the ear is not physiologically capable of

hearing sounds below 20 Hz, the individual does not actually hear a 7 Hz tone.

Only the original two frequencies of 100 Hz and 107 Hz are actually perceived.

However, the brain creates the third frequency (i.e., 7 Hz) as a difference-tone

or binaural-beat, and the central nervous system follows it, increasing its

28
production of brain waves of this frequency (Oster, 1973). The term “Hemi-

Sync” was used by Monroe to describe this auditory-guidance system. Binaural

beat frequencies that were created were identified on an EEG as having equal

amplitude, location, and phase relationships in both cortical hemispheres. This

reflected a hemispherically synchronized brain wave pattern. This is a naturally

occurring phenomenon in brain wave recordings; however, it occurs relatively

infrequently and lasts for a very brief time period. As Monroe studied listener

responses to a wide variety of binaural beats, he found certain complex

combinations of binaural beats to be more effective than other combinations. In

addition, these multilayered combinations were more effective than binaural

beats of single frequencies. These sound patterns were further standardized on

adult listeners and became the basis for the different Hemi-Sync sound

sequences incorporated into the audiotapes used in the Monroe Institute

programs.

The initial Hemi-Sync tapes were a blend of Hemi-Sync sound patterns in

a background of "pink sound" or natural ocean surf. Pink sound is white noise

which amplifies lower frequency sounds and reduces high frequency sounds

creating a more pleasing natural sound. These tapes included verbal elements

such as breathing exercises, guided relaxation, affirmation, and guided

visualization. They contained a directed purpose of facilitating states of

consciousness as varied as sleep, reverie, intuitive and transpersonal states of

consciousness. Adult listeners consistently reported increased physical

relaxation, greater emotional calming, increased focus of attention, and greater

access to internal imagery. In the early 1980s, Monroe began to incorporate

many of the Hemi-Sync patterns developed for the guided tapes into a music

background, which he called Metamusic.

29
Metamusic allowed listeners of all ages to enjoy Hemi-Sync as an open, non-

directed background for activities such as self-generated imagery. In my own

experience, and with people who came for coaching, I learned that listening to

Metamusic by itself relaxes the body in general, but the mind (thoughts and

emotions) continues to flow along an unknown roadmap of associations. The

"inner tsunami of thoughts-emotions-thoughts-emotions" interferes with the

process of building the Inner Space of Calmness. (http://www.monroeinstitute.org/,

February 20, 2006).

Since we cannot actually stop thoughts and emotions, we can use guided

imagery to focus our intention and attention to create the sensation of bio-

psychological Inner Space of Calmness (calming thoughts, emotions and inner

organs, feeling integrated harmony of these three components, and releasing

potential energy for sensitive observation, and responsiveness that derives from

awareness, awakening and silence.)

Harmonic calming music, and more specifically music that can entrain

alpha brain waves, is a very "user-friendly," effective tool for creating the Inner

Space of Calmness environment of mind and body. However, imagery and

guided imagery are essential in order to organize that space and perceive it as

an experience which the whole brain (left and right hemispheres) can recognize,

grasp, encode in memory and revive again to consciousness and to physical

relaxing sensation.

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Imagery and guided imagery

We can use imagination as a powerful tool of the mind to evaluate different

situations of the past and of the future. As long as we are aware that we are in

"imagery mode," it can be used as a very powerful simulator of the mind. It can

be used in therapy to encourage changes in attitudes, behavior, or physiological

reactions. As a mental process, it is often defined as "any thought representing

a sensory quality". It includes, as well as the visual, all the senses - aural,

tactile, olfactory, and kinesthetic.

Imagery is integrated in many behavioral therapies not specifically

labeled imagery. Since it often involves directed concentration, it can also be

thought of as a form of meditation (see the "Meditation" section). Imagery can

be taught either individually or in groups, and the therapist often uses it to affect

a particular result, such as quitting smoking or bolstering the immune system to

attack cancer cells.

Practices that have a component of imagery are almost ubiquitous. They

include, among many others, biofeedback, desensitization and counter-

conditioning, psychosynthesis, neurolinguistic programming, Gestalt therapy,

rational emotive therapy, and hypnosis (see the "Hypnosis" section). Any

therapy that relies on imagery or fantasy to motivate, communicate, solve

problems, or evoke heightened awareness and sensitivity could be described as

a form of imagery. Forms of meditation that involve repeating a sound or mantra

or focusing attention on an object that has no concurrent external referent (such

as a whale in the ocean) could also be developed as aspects of imagery.

Likewise, relaxation techniques that involve instruction (e.g., "Your hands are

heavy"), such as autogenic training, have an imagery component.

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 Numerous studies indicate that mental imagery can bring about

significant physiological and biochemical changes. These findings, which have

encouraged the development of imagery as a healthcare tool, include its

capacity to affect oxygen supply in tissues (Olness and Conroy, 1985); some of

these findings are from well-controlled studies, but the vast majority represents

reports of single cases or small studies that have not been replicated.

Nevertheless, the conclusion is that there is a relationship between imagery of

bodily change and actual bodily change. Without question, imagery calls for

further and more precise investigation. Techniques used in evaluation or

diagnostic imagery involve asking the person to describe his or her condition in

sensory terms. The therapist gathers information regarding the experience and

the associations in the person's stock of memory.

Evaluation imagery is usually done early in a therapy session and serves

as a format for designing both mental rehearsal and therapeutic intervention

strategies. Mental rehearsal is an imagery technique used before medical

techniques, usually in an attempt to relieve anxiety, pain, and side-effects which

are exacerbated by heightened emotional reactions.

Typically, a relaxation strategy is taught, the treatment and recovery

period are described in sensory terms as the person is taken on a guided

imagery "trip." Care is taken to be factual without using emotion-laden or fear-

provoking words, and the medical procedure is reframed in a positive way

whenever possible. The person is taught coping techniques such as distraction,

mental dissociation, muscle relaxation, and abdominal breathing.

Published results with mental rehearsals (or sensory education) are

almost uniformly positive and often dramatic. Effects include reduced pain and

anxiety; decreased length of hospital stay; the use of fewer pain medicines,

32
barbiturates, tranquilizers, and other medications; and reduced treatment side-

effects. Mental rehearsal is a cornerstone of certain natural childbirth practices.

It has also been tested in burn debridement (Kenner and Achterberg, 1983) and

as a preparation for spinal surgery (Lawlis et al., 1985), cholecystectomy, pelvic

examination, cast removal, and endoscopy (Johnson et al., 1978). In each of

these instances, rehearsal through imagery was found to diminish pain and

discomfort, and to reduce side-effects.

Imagery as a therapeutic intervention is based on the idea that the

images have either a direct or an indirect effect on health. Therefore, either the

persons are shown how to use their own flow of images about the healing

process or, alternatively, they are guided through a series of images that are

intended to soothe and distract them, reduce any sympathetic nervous system

arousal, and generally enhance their relaxation. The practitioner may also use

"end-state" types of imagery, in which persons imagine themselves in a state of

perfect health, well-being, or successfully achieved goals.

Imagery has been successfully tested as a strategy for alleviating the

nausea and vomiting associated with chemotherapy in cancer persons, to

relieve stress and to facilitate weight gain in cancer persons. It has been

successfully used and tested for pain-control in a variety of settings; as

adjunctive therapy for several diseases, including diabetes and with geriatric

persons to enhance immunity. Imagery is usually combined with other

behavioral approaches. It is best known in the treatment of cancer as a means

to help persons mobilize their immune systems but is also used as part of a

multidisciplinary approach to cardiac rehabilitation (Ornish, 1990; Ornish, 1983)

and in many settings that specialize in treating chronic pain.

33
 The measurement of imagery as a mental process is fraught with the

same problems faced in measuring any other so-called hypothetical construct,

including learning, motivation, and perception. One may assume that

"imagination" means "not real." But the thoughts, words, and images that flow

from your imagination can have very real physiological consequences for the

body. Often the brain cannot distinguish whether we are imagining something or

actually experiencing it.

The Bonny Method of Guided Imagery and Music (GIM), a music-assisted

mode of self-exploration and therapy, is the basis for Carol A. Bush's book

"Healing Imagery & Music" (Bush, 1995). Carol Bush (M.S.W., Licensed Clinical

Social Worker, Fellow of the Association of Music and Imagery, and Co-Director

of the Mid-Atlantic Training Institute) is a pioneer of the Bonny Method of

Guided Imagery and Music. The Bonny Method of GIM was conceived and

developed by Helen L. Bonny, Ph.D. Inspired by a mystical experience with

music while playing the violin, Dr. Bonny felt called to lead other people to the

healing power of music. In the early 1970s, she used her unique understanding

of music and her well-developed therapeutic skills at the Maryland Psychiatric

Research Center, where she combined relaxation techniques and classical

musical selections to elicit responses from persons. She went on to research

her findings and ultimately to develop the Bonny Method.

The Bonny Method of GIM is characterized by the use of specially

sequenced classical music within a one-to-one session conducted by a

facilitator who is formally trained in the Bonny Method of GIM. After an initial

discussion with an individual, the facilitator provides relaxation and focusing

suggestions to assist the individual's entry into a relaxed state. This is followed

34
by an interactive music listening experience in which the individual listens to the

music and describes the images, sensations, feelings, and awareness evoked

by it. The facilitator, who is also listening to the music, helps to focus and

support the individual's image experiences in a variety of ways. At the close of

the music, the facilitator assists the individual's return from the expanded state

of consciousness and helps him or her to integrate the experiences evoked by

the music.

Since for one person, a calm surrounding may be associated with the sea

shore, while for another - who almost drowned in childhood - the sea might

evoke anxiety, the GIM method suggests the importance of drawing on a

person's own memory with its specific associations of a calm surrounding. Such

associations can arise either from a specific past experience, or images that

arise of their own accord with no specific structured experienced memory.

Self-hypnosis with music

Self-hypnosis is a practice that essentially concentrates the mind on certain

chosen topics. It is regularly used to help people stop smoking, eat less, and

achieve personal goals. By concentrating our mind and imagining senses,

thoughts and even images we can persuade our conscious and subconscious

mind. In this way, we can easily tell ourselves that we do not need a cigarette or

persuade ourselves that we don't need to eat compulsively. Self-hypnosis can

be used for many different things, among them conquering fears or overcoming

self-doubt. It can even be used to quit habits and generally improve our outlook

on daily life.

35
 Self-hypnosis can help us to develop and express awareness and

intuition, feel worthwhile, self-confident, and zestful, gain a happier home life;

become a better husband, wife, parent, or friend, acquire the ability to relax

completely in any situation; make better decisions, improve concentration,

overcome procrastination, improve the quality of our emotional expression,

reduce conflict and stress, promote health and well-being, regain the natural

ability to sleep easily, sell our ideas or services with confidence and

enthusiasm, increase our income, attract and maintain worthwhile friendships,

discover negative mental patterns and how they affect us, free ourselves from

hostility, resentment, fear of rejection, select our goals in life; chart our course

for their realization, program our mind with positive mental concepts and

success attitudes, and develop the ability to construct mental images easily. In

his book "Master the Power of Self Hypnosis" Roy Hunter, an international

leader in the field of hypnotherapy, lists five gateways for reaching

unconsciousness: (1) word repetition; (2) authority figure; (3) desire for identity;

(4) alpha waves; and (5) emotions (Hunter, 1998). When working with my

clients, I suggest using the Inner Space of Calmness together with alpha

entrained music to reach unconsciousness and replace unhealthy compulsive

behavior with a more constructive, healthier one.

36
Summary of the theoretical review

In the review of the literature we first defined the concept of mind-body as it is

expressed in holistic and western scientific research. Then we learned how stress

creates negative environment that influences our mind-body. The concept of

inner calming space derives from the assumption that psycho-physiological

harmonic balanced sensation can be "stored" in memory and then be operated by

request. We reviewed the possibility of reaching inner calming space via

meditation and biofeedback and then explored more deeply the mysterious

positive influence of calming and harmonic music. We learned the advantage of

using binaural alpha entrained music as a "user-friendly interface" that facilitates

creation of an Inner Space of Calmness. Though other tools such as meditation

and biofeedback can bring about the Inner Space of Calmness, it takes a lot of

discipline and time to achieve the same effect of calmness, as compared to using

alpha music technology together with guided imagery. Using imagination and

guided imagery was presented to explain how the inner calming space can be

restored in the mind, by using the imagination and the association of calmness for

the person who is experiencing the inner space.

Imagination is also the factor in choosing the symbol those later functions

as the operating trigger to recall and operate the calming inner space on request.

The last part of the theoretical review engaged with self-hypnosis that can be built

upon the inner calming space in order to replace bad habits and compulsive

behavior with more balanced and constructive behavior.

37
2. Implementing Inner Calmness and Wellbeing on Request

This thesis focuses on the conditions that together create a state of holistic

mind-body inner sensation of mind-body relaxation, harmony and silence. The

process includes creating the inner space of calmness, "keeping the space"

as a defined structured experience in one's memory and also one's ability to

"operate it" on request in order to reduce stress. Furthermore, the use of self-

hypnosis which is based on the inner space of calmness, has also been

explored as a self-regulation tool for reconditioning behavior. The tools that I

use with people who come to me for coaching - the special harmonic soft music

and guided imagery and the use of self hypnosis - are scientifically

documented with their positive effects on mind–body health, as described in the

theoretical part.

The emphasis in this thesis is to explore the process of integrating

physical sensation, thoughts and emotions toward a state of mind-body inner

environment of silence and harmony which is perceived by the person being

coached. The coach (in this case, me) facilitates and assists the person in the

process of building a personal psycho-physiological inner space of calmness,

that the person can eventually operate independently, upon him/herself in order

to reduce stress, whenever necessary. The ability to "operate the inner space"

can provide people with further motivation to use the special music as an

environment for self-hypnosis of reconditioning compulsive behaviors, and

replacing them with more suitable ones.

People come to me when they feel stuck in a specific problem they are

aware of, and have enough motivation to start a process of change in their life.

It may be a question of their personal relationship, seeking a better job, stress

and unhappiness, a wish to improve chronic illness conditions, and so on. I

38
have developed 12 tools of awareness which I call "Tuning the Inner Compass."

The tools assist the coaching process in mapping the "junction" at which they

are in their life, where they want to go to, how to reach their goal, and

whether they possess the inner energies and outer resources to

accomplish the changes in their life.

The limited framework of the thesis doesn’t allow a detailed description of

all the tools, which are calmness, creativity, love, direction, quantity,

synchronicity, attention, frequencies, body maintenance, action/reaction,

sharpening the senses.

Reaching the inner space of calmness is the first tool I use in my

coaching and it is the basis for the observations made on the three people

who are described in the thesis. As I see it, calmness is the first required

condition for people in order to attain clarity of their mind-body being, before

undertaking any other changes in their life. Sometimes, when there is inner

calmness, things just get settled in other aspects of life as well.

The process of reaching the Inner Space of Calmness, creating its

personalized inner environment, remembering as a mind-body experience

and learning to operate it by request, consist of the following stages:

1. The preparations needed to awaken awareness and attention for perceiving

inner space;

2. Selecting the music for creating a deep relaxation environment;

3. Integrating imagery and guided imagery together with the calming music in

order to sense and remember the psycho-physiological experience of the Inner

Space of Calmness;

39
4. Creating the mind-control triggering and positive conditioning to actually

operate calmness on request;

5. Guided imagery tour that integrates inner organ relaxation, calming thoughts,

emotions, creating the inner calming space and connecting it to the symbolized

trigger.

The process of exploring, creating and activating the inner

space of calmness

The following section describes the actual stages a person passes through,

after we discuss the negative effects of stress on the mind-body and the

benefits of building an inner space of calmness as a tool for stress self-

management.

1. The first stage of the process for creating the Inner Space of Calmness is the

person's awareness, attention and sensation regarding the transition from

stressed mind-body sensation to a relaxed one. At the beginning, the person

receives holistic massage. Lying on the massage bed, the person feels a

gradual change from stressed muscles and body parts to a relaxed sensation of

body muscles in the legs, lower back, upper back and head. Every now and

then, I check that the person is aware of the changes in the sensation by asking

him how s/he feels. I make sure the person's thoughts are not wandering away

and that their attention is focused on how the massage touches and eases the

tensed muscles and tissues. At this stage, the atmosphere in the room is

created by aromatherapy, candlelight and harmonious background music that

draws on nature.

40
Instructions for releasing the physical body:

The following instructions derive from the actual interaction between the coach

(me in this case) and the person. The words may change but the significance of

the instructions are the same – leading the person toward physical relaxation

and at the same time, awaking the awareness to the process s/he is going

through.

"Please sit in a comfortable, relaxed way. If you have a tight belt or bra,

loose it up. Inhale deeply. Do you feel the depth of your breath reaching the

lower part of your belly? Exhale. Breathe deeply another five times and then

exhale.

Scan your body – your inner organs. Do all your biological subsystems

feel in place? If something hurts you or you feel any pain, observe where it

comes from, and make a decision that for the next 40 minutes, your attention

will be focused on exploring the inner space of calmness.

Now please undress, remaining in your underpants, and lie on the

massage bed. The massage will take twenty minutes. Try to observe your

physical body parts and how the sensation changes - from stressed muscles to

relaxed - as they go through the change."

2. Selecting the music for creating deep relaxation environment

After the massage, the person remains lying on the bed. I suggest two pieces of

music to listen to, and ask the person to choose the one with which s/he will

create the inner calming space during the next meeting. The massage takes

places with harmonic music, that I chose, playing in the background, as part of

the outer atmosphere to achieve physical relaxation.

41
The following part's aim is to lead the person's attention to the music that

follows on the tour of relaxing the inner organs, thoughts and emotions, prior to

creating the Inner Space of Calmness.

The instructions for choosing the music that will create the atmosphere of

the inner calming space:

"For the next five minutes you will be listening to a musical passage. Feel it.

You can close your eyes to concentrate better. After that, you will hear another

kind of music for the next five minutes. Please choose the one you prefer."

3-4 Reviving from memory and from imagination the personal association for

the inner calming space script (that is composed thereafter), and choosing the

personal symbolic trigger to activate the inner space.

After ten minutes during which the person listens to the two musical passages,

the person selects the preferred one. At that stage, over the next ten minutes,

the person is asked to listen to the music and imagine the inner space of

calmness. S/he can express this out loud – while imagining and visualizing the

space - or can simply experience it in his or her consciousness. S/he can use

only imagination or combine it with a real experience from the past. At this

stage, I sit with my notebook and write down any spoken remarks. If the person

remains quiet, at the end of the ten minutes, I ask what associations and inner

imagery came to mind. Together, we summarize it and I write it down. I then ask

what symbol, word or object will act as the trigger to operate the inner space of

calmness on request, and the person chooses his or her personal trigger.

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 The actual instructions for evoking the personal associations,

imagination, and the personal trigger symbol for operating the inner

calming space on request

"The music you chose will lead us to the inner tour of your calmness space.

Please relax your body. You can move, stand up, stretch your body, feel easy

with yourself. Scan your body again and sense that each organ feels

comfortable in its place. Breathe deeply. For the next ten minutes, while you

listen to the music, imagine you're in the most appropriate environment of

calmness and happiness. It can be a real place you've visited in the past, or you

can construct it in your imagination. It can be near the ocean, on a mountain or

in the forest… it can be in your bathroom, or in the sky…Your imagination has

no limits. Build an environment of calmness that is the most suitable for you."

(Ten minutes later)

"Gradually return to consciousness and open your eyes. What was your

experience like? Can you describe your calming environment?" (I listen and

write down the association and the atmosphere of the person's symbols of

calmness). "Now, please give me a symbol - a name, word or object that will be

the triggering button that - whenever you operate it, at any time - will take you

into your calming inner space, on request." (I write the chosen symbol).

5. Guided imagery tour that integrates inner organs relaxation, calming

thoughts, emotions, creating the inner calming space and connecting it to the

symbolized trigger.

At this stage, the person is requested to lie on the bed again. I turn on

the music chosen as the inner environment for the calming inner space. I ask

the person to breathe deeply, close her eyes and start the inner tour, aimed at

43
reaching the mind-body deep silence, harmonic and balanced psycho-

physiological sensation. I explain the importance of being strongly aware of the

deep relaxing mode that her mind-body is reaching.

The actual guided imagery tour

"For the next twenty minutes, we'll focus our attention and learn the following:

Calming the physical body, calming thoughts, calming emotions, building an

inner space of calmness, composing a positive conditioning between a

triggering symbolic button and the inner space of calmness, operating the

symbolic button on request, in order to evoke the sensation of space of

calmness in your mind-body environment - on request.

"We are using imagery as a language to communicate your cells, body organs,

thought and emotions. This time I'll lead the tour. Try to stay in focus. If you feel

thoughts entering your mind, ask them gently to leave, and get back to the tour.

"Please breathe deeply, relax, and close your eyes."

(The music begins; I start the guided imagery tour in the first-person – this is the

outline English text of the Hebrew-language guided imagery CD that is part of

the applied section of the thesis).

The following description is the guided imagery of the inner organs tour

calming process, thoughts and emotions calmness. At this stage, the person is

physically relaxed; aware of the physical changes occurring in his body as the

massage eases muscles, skin and tissues. S/he is ready to go to a deeper level

of calmness where s/he will use his imagination together with the music s/he

chose as an active part of the process to give attention and virtual patting and

care of organs, biological inner systems, thoughts and emotions. The words

chosen are significant for creating the inner environment the person builds as

s/he goes through the process of the tour:

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I'm lying comfortable, relaxed... I close your eyes.

I'm patting my forehead from within.

I feel as if I'm wiping my forehead with a wet, warm towel.

I let it loose. I release the stress.

I breathe deeply.... I let it go...

I feel how oxygen enters and fills all my body cells.

I feel the music penetrating my cells.

I focus my attention on exploring my inner space of calmness

I let my eyelids close... like heavy curtains

I release their muscles

I release the muscles of my cheeks and let them relax. I feel their heaviness

I let them loose

I release my neck

I touch it tenderly. I feel as if I'm massaging my neck from within.

I feel as if I'm in a swimming pool, warm water surrounds my body up to the

neck. I float on my back and the water tickles my neck

I breathe deeply.... I let it go...

I feel how oxygen enters and fills all my body cells.

I feel the music penetrating my cells.

I focus my attention on exploring my inner space of calmness

I stretch my arms and my shoulders

I release the tension in my arms and shoulders.

I feel as if my arms are like a bird’s wings… flying high in the clear sky

I feel the inner silence, I feel the outer silence.

I breathe deeply.... I let it go...

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I feel how oxygen enters and fills all my body cells.

I feel the music penetrating my cells.

I focus my attention on exploring my inner space of calmness

I calm my chest.

I hug my chest and I feel its loving reaction.

I observe the inner parts of my chest

I send love and harmony to the organs, glands, tissues, and cells in my chest.

I hug my stomach and I feel its loving reaction.

I observe the inner parts of my stomach.

I send love and harmony to the organs, glands tissues, and cells in my

stomach.

I breathe deeply.... I let it go...

I feel how oxygen enters and fills all my body cells.

I feel the music penetrating my cells.

I focus my attention on exploring my inner space of calmness

I release the tension in my hips and pat them from within

I release the tension in my thighs and pat them from within

I release the tension in my shins and pat them from within

I release the tension in my feet and pat them from within

I breathe deeply.... I let it go...

I feel how oxygen enters and fills all my body cells.

I feel the music penetrating my cells.

I focus my attention on exploring my inner space of calmness

I release the tension in the back of my legs and pat them from within

I release the tension in my buttocks and pat them from within

I release the tension in my lower part of my back and pat it from within

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I release the tension in the middle part of my back and pat it from within

I release the tension in the upper part of my back and pat it from within

I release the tension in the back of my neck and pat it from within

I feel calm and released from tension.

All my body systems are relaxed and I sense harmony within me.

I feel as if my body is surrounded by a lighted spiral, rising up from my feet,

around my body and up above my head.

I will now calm my thoughts and my emotions

4. Thoughts that come and go come and go like clouds that come and go come

and go…

The thoughts are part of me, but my being is much more than my thoughts

My being is also the space between thoughts.

I observe thoughts as in my mind and calm them down

I calm my thoughts like a calm clear lake. And if I notice a thought rising up – it's

only natural. I’ll observe it, and calm it down.

I breathe deeply.... and I let it go...

5. I observe my emotions.

What emotion do I feel right now? Where in my body do I sense it?

What color does it have? How heavy is it? What's its name?

If I happen to have emotions such as fear, anger, frustration,

I'll release them by letting them go.

These emotions function as a red light telling me that I'm in a non-harmonic

situation and I should find a way to resolve it. Once I'm aware of it, I can release

these emotions.

I let in fresh air that spreads oxygen to all my body cells,

And I let go all the tension and emotions I don’t need.

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I calm my organs, glands, tissues and cells.

I calm my thoughts like a calm, clear lake.

I calm my emotions like a calm, clear lake.

6. Now I'll create my inner space of calmness

I'll use a past experience of calmness that I had, or I can use my imagination to

create it.

The inner space environment is based on the association and the

imagery the person expressed in the first part. There are only 3-5 minutes of

music, and then I use the person's association and imagery expressions to

close up the scene of the calm space. For example: I'm walking on the sea

shore, I feel the soft sand under my feet, I see the endless blue sea touching

the endless blue sky. I feel the silence in me, touches the silence outside. The

sun is sending its loving rays of light and warmth, the soft wind hugs my body. I

feel joy and calmness; I'm part of the calmness of nature

I'm in the space of calmness. I see the people I love. I smile to them with love

and compassion. I get a smile, love and compassion in return.

Each day that passes I feel better and better...

I calm my organs, glands, tissues and cells.

I calm my thoughts like a calm, clear lake.

I calm my emotions like a calm, clear lake.

I breathe deeply.... I let it go...

I feel how oxygen enters and fills all my body cells.

I feel the music penetrating my cells.

I focus my attention on exploring my inner space of calmness.

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I bring it into my body and mind and I send it out to my surrounding

environment.

7. I’ll now choose a symbol that will be the trigger button that operates the Inner

Space of Calmness whenever I want. It can be a special word, it can be two

fingers attached together, it can be a crystal I'll hold in my hand. Whenever I

use the symbolic button, I'll breathe deeply. I'll feel a shower of calmness

penetrating my inner organs, gland, tissues and cells. I'll feel my thoughts calm

down like a clear calm lake, I'll feel my emotions calm down like a clear calm

lake. My body and my mind will be relaxed.

My biological systems will feel vivid harmony. My mind – thoughts and

emotions - will feel vivid harmony. My Inner Space of Calmness is my inner

home, and I can sense it whenever I press my symbolic button, no matter what

the outer environment is. Whether I'm at home, with friends, at work, on the

road or shopping, I can operate my Inner Space of Calmness on request,

whenever I want.

I'll now get back to my awakened state of mind. I'll count from one till five. When

I get to five, I'll open my eyes, breathe deeply, and feel the inner calming space

as part of my body and mind perception of sensing the world around me.

1….2….3….4…5….

(The person's eyes open, I offer a drink of water, and s/he stretches the body

and tells me how s/he feels)

8. (I explain how to operate the symbolic button again – in the awakened state

of mind).

Wherever you are, I suggest you sit comfortably, take 3-5 deep breaths; drink 3-

5 sips of water and then visualize the tour to the calmness space by "pressing

the symbolic button." Breathe deeply again. The breaths, together with inner

49
sensation of harmony, is an indicator for your inner calmness. If it's deep and

smooth, and you feel as if your body and mind are hugging you from within or

are smiling at you with warmth and compassion, you're there. You will know it.

This is an optimal inner feeling – the combination of relaxation and aware

senses.

In this state of body-mind, you can cope with stress and have tolerance for the

interactions and situations you're in.

Wrap-up of the guided imagery tour

The person gives me feedback on his or her mind-body feeling and sensation.

The first time that people experience the guided imagery tour for sensing the

inner calming space, they usually find that thoughts and emotions disturb their

attention by flowing into consciousness. I explain that it’s a natural situation and

emphasize the need to practice the tour once a day, for twenty minutes.

I print out the tour steps and suggest that they buy or borrow the music s/he

chose. This session can be part of a coaching process, and can also be an

independent session aimed at creating the Inner Space of Calmness.

People can attend another session, to deepen the process, or start working on

their own.

Adding Self-Hypnosis

Offering a self-hypnosis method, coupled with calming music, assists self-

reprogramming of conditioned compulsive habits and unwanted behaviors in

order to replace them with healthier, more balanced ones. The Inner Space of

Calmness can be a basis for self-hypnosis using music with alpha binaural

technology. After we sense the inner space and its calmness body and mind

50
environment, we can continue with a targeted self-hypnosis programming. The

alpha music opens up the subconscious for reprogramming and replacing

unwanted habits, such as quitting smoking or weight-control. The first step is to

keep a notebook and pen to hand; on returning to active conscious mind after

the tour, we write down the desired solution that will replace a bad habit. We

can visualize our self in the situation we want to reach. For example, if we want

to reduce weight, we can describe how we look, our slim, light body. We can

describe how everyone notices our new look, how we buy new, smaller size

jeans: we can read it and visualize it.

Each night before going to sleep – we can press that symbolic button,

enter our calmness space, and visualize an empty desktop. Next we visualize

the bad habit, minimize it until it becomes a small dot and disappears, and then

visualize the replacement scene or situation. This is a process - and it takes at

least ten times to feel the effectiveness of our self-hypnosis act.

Then we return to the conscious mind by counting from one to five.

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3. Observations

Observations in qualitative research

Observation is a fundamental data collection strategy in qualitative research.

The main purpose of observation is to obtain a thorough description of the

phenomenon, including activities, participants and the meaning they attach to

the phenomenon. It involves careful identification and accurate description of

relevant human interactions and processes. Observational fieldwork can

provide a better understanding of the context in which the phenomenon occurs

and allows the researcher to be aware of important dimensions the participants

may consciously or unconsciously ignore or omit in an interview.

The observation reports include the following:

1. The person's multidimensional profile as I documented it during our first

session.

2. Description of the preparations I made with the person in order to awaken

their awareness, attention and sensitivity to their body-mind perception of

calmness versus stress.

3. Description of the process of choosing the music and documenting the

person's association for inner calmness environment.

4. Documenting the tour of building an Inner Space of Calmness.

5. Description of the possibilities of other behavioral changes that arose,

beyond building and implementing the inner space.

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 I used Joel Ziff's multimodality perception (Ziff, 2002) as a format for

observation of a person before experiencing the Inner Space of Calmness, as a

framework for awareness in the process of the inner calming space and as a

concluding theoretical wrap-up of the thesis. The main ideas in the

multimodality model derive from a holistic and dynamic interrelation

effect between the physical, emotional, interpersonal, behavioral,

cognitive and spiritual dimensions of human experience. In Joel Ziff's

words, "when we work to resolve problems, our responses are complex: our

bodies react, we experience feelings, we make sense of the situation for

ourselves, we do something, we engage with others, we seek spiritual and

religious resources… A multi-modality approach focuses on whichever is most

effective and efficient for the particular person at a particular time. Change in

one area of human functioning often translates spontaneously into changes in

other dimensions."2

Observing Ruthi

Ruthi: female, Age: 35, Lives in: the Modi'in area, Israel

Status: single, in a relationship with a married man for two years

Education: BA in Education from the Hebrew University

The reason for arrival for coaching: Ruthi came because she felt that the

psychological treatment that she had received for the past five years wasn't

2 Joel Ziff, Ed.D., is a psychologist in Newton, Massachusetts, and on the faculty at Lesley

University. He works with individuals, families, and groups. He offers consultation and training to

organizations on collaboration, conflict resolution, and stress management.

53
helping her. She felt stuck in her life. She said she was stressed, couldn't sleep,

was about to resign from her job, and was very unhappy about her relationship

with a married man.

History: Ruthi came to Israel from Canada with her parents when she was 16.

She had a brother who committed suicide while serving in the army, three years

ago. Her parents divorced right after her brother's death. From her childhood

she remembered her dad as an angry man, who shouted at her mom and at

her, in the home. They settled in Jerusalem. She felt an outsider, didn’t know

Hebrew, and couldn't find her place at home either.

Mapping Ruthi's multidimensional situation at our first session:

Behavioral – sleeping problem: unable to fall asleep, awoke in the middle of

the night; compulsive eating as a response to stress.

Physical - Muscle tension; digestive disorders; breathing problems.

Emotional – Depressed, nervous, frustrated by her job and life situation.

Interpersonal - Tendency to be isolated, not very friendly.

Mental – self-critical. Loss of self-confidence and low self-esteem.

Spiritual – sees no light at the end of the tunnel. Has no faith in God or

energies beyond her physical body.

First Meeting: Preparation for sensing the Inner Space of Calmness

Behavioral - Make a commitment to practice the inner tour at least once a day.

Twenty minutes without phone-calls or interruptions.

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Ruthi wasn't sure she could commit herself to twenty minutes a day. She gave

many reasons such as no time, no patience, didn't sleep enough so she might

fall asleep while practicing the tour.

Physical - Be aware of tendencies to become physically tense. Loose your

body, even at work. Stretch your legs, lift your arms, breathe deeply five times.

Drink water with awareness. I gave Ruthi a massage, and she felt how tensed

her muscles were and how good she felt as her muscles released themselves.

Emotional – focusing on observing emotions: where are the emotions located

in the body? What's their volume? Their weight? Their color? What's their

name? – Anger, fear, frustration, envy? Or… joy, happiness, love, compassion?

Ruthi felt her stress in her neck. Like a rock, preventing her from breathing

smoothly and deeply. She said she felt a combination of sorrow and anger.

Interpersonal - Clarify who can give you empathy, support, peace of mind, with

whom do you feel very natural, free with no conflicts or restraints? Who gives

you a free space to act freely? Ruthi said she lives alone and even her

boyfriend makes her tense because he comes and goes, doesn’t spend the

whole night with her because he's married. Her mother always judges her and

is not satisfied with her achievements.

Mental – observing left brain and right brain functions. Observing thoughts,

emotions and physical sensations. Observing associations, conditions.

Observing the rationale behind creating the bio-psychological inner calming

space. Ruthi is an intellectual woman and aware of the stress enfolding her.

She listened very carefully about the importance of building an inner space of

55
calmness. She wondered whether she could do it; to her, it sounded "too good

to be true."

Spiritual – observing questions such as what is love? What is eternal?

Limitation of the mind? Humanity connectivity? Perception beyond thoughts.

Ruthi didn't believe in God. She didn't believe in life after death. She was

intrigued by the idea of the evolution of the mind, as the possibility to be able to

perceive beyond the five senses.

Second meeting – choosing the music, choosing associations for

calmness

I performed a twenty-minute massage to relax Ruth's physical body and asked

her to choose the music she most preferred for her tour. Ruthi came to me right

after work, she was "loaded" with stress and discontented by the fact that she

didn't get along with her boss. The moment she entered the room she started

chatting about how miserable she was, and the fact that her boss didn't give her

any responsibility and supervised her constantly.

I asked her to let go… to remove her clothes and relax. I asked her to

listen to the first music passage for five minutes and told her that if she didn’t

like it right away, to let me know. I changed the music after five minutes and she

was very quiet. Throughout the twenty minutes, she was lying face-down with

her head in the massage-bed opening. Then I asked her to turn over on her

back and placed a pillow under her head. She drank the green tea that I

prepared for her and she lay down again. I asked her which music she liked

best. She chose – "Inner Journey" from Metamusic – Monroe's Institute series.

56
Now I asked her to breathe deeply and to "organize" her body parts in the most

comfortable way she could. I told her to close her eyes and for the next twenty

minutes to imagine the calmness space in her mind. I told her that I would be

around, "holding the space for her." I told her she was the script editor, the

actor, and the conductor of the scene of her unique Inner Space of Calmness. I

told her she could call on an association from a real scene that she experienced

in the past - a scene of calmness and harmonious space. She could also use

her pure imagination to create the scene. I told her she could talk during the

twenty minutes or just screen it in her mind. I put on the music for the next

twenty minutes, and my notebook was close to hand. Most of the time Ruthi

was silent. She lay on the bed; I covered her with a blanket and she seemed

relaxed.

During the last five minutes she started talking and I wrote down what

she said. "I'm in a forest. I'm lying on the grass. Cool wind is caressing my skin.

I see the blue sky. I see some birds. I hear the voices of children playing far

away. I'm alone but then my boyfriend lies beside me and hugs me. I feel

happy, no worries. There is silence, only the sound of the leaves and the

children's voices far away." She fell asleep for some moments and then I woke

her up, she dressed and she sat down. I asked her how she felt and she had

tears in her eyes. She said she felt as if had woken up from a fairytale dream. I

asked her if she wanted to write anything. She didn’t. Then I asked her to

observe her thoughts, emotions, and her physical body.

She took a deep breath and said: "That was really relaxing. How

beautiful." I gave her a hug, and asked her "If you were a fairy, what symbol

would you use to trigger the calmness space and bring it upon yourself

57
whenever you wanted? It could be a magic word, it could be a deep breath, it

could be holding a stone or something else in your hand." She thought for a

while and said: "The word silence, silence, silence," and then she left. I took the

written description of her scene and prepared to build it in the general

framework of the tour.

Third meeting: the tour

Ruthi's next visit was like a storm on a sunny day. I gave her a drink of water;

let her talk rapidly while she was removing her clothes and getting onto the

massage bed. She was mad at her boyfriend who usually arrived at her place at

23:00 - they make love, then he goes home. She said she is really frustrated

because of him. She wants children, but doesn’t think he will ever leave his

wife. I listened silently. She was thinking of going onto internet singles websites.

I said I could help her write an attractive profile. Then I turned on the music and

gave her a massage for 20 minutes; I did some energetic healing to open her

chakras (energetic centers in her body) as part of the massage. Then I asked

her to turn over. Placing a pillow under her head, I explained again the idea of

the body-mind tour and creating an inner calmness center:

1. Calming physical organs, thought and emotions

2. Building the calmness inner space by using her associations of the forest.

3. Connecting the magic symbol that she chose (the word silence x 3).

I explained to her the importance of experiencing body-mind deep harmonious

relaxation and the bio-psychological effect of music - how music penetrated the

cells and creates the sensation of calmness bypassing the left mind that is

58
constantly chatting, criticizing, trying to solve problems, judging nonstop and

unwilling to "let go" its control over body and mind. Ruthi listened carefully. She

said she wasn’t sure it would work with her, because her thoughts are so

intense and she is so stressed, but she was willing to try. I told her that thoughts

might interfere and that this is a natural phenomenon.

If it happens, all she had to do was try and get back to the tour and

focus on my guiding. I turned the music on and started the tour. I gently touched

the body part that is related to the tour. I watched her body and saw how

tranquility was replacing stress. When I got to the part of describing the Inner

Space of Calmness – I used her associations and added more details to her

guideline descriptions. Her loving figure was her boyfriend and other people that

are very dear to her. Then I made the connection between the symbol and the

whole sensation of bio-psychological calmness, harmony and balance. When

she opened her eyes she said "I feel as if I'm walking on clouds. I'm breathing

very deeply. I feel as if I came home." I gave her a disk with the music and my

guided imagery on it.

I explained to her how important it is to practice it every day at least once

– for twenty minutes. I explained to her that it's just like sport - the more she

practices, the easier she'll be able to "shower" her body-mind with the sense of

deep relaxation, and will have the energy to observe her perception processes

and the relation between thoughts, emotions, physical sensations. Ruthi came

for spiritual coaching for almost a year. The calmness inner space was the first

and most important self-regulation tool that I taught her. After three months, she

said at our meeting that her boss had shouted at her, accusing her of something

she didn’t do and she operated the calmness space, answered quietly in a

59
pragmatic way, without quarreling or arguing. She said she could feel her anger

rising like a huge wave in the ocean, but when she "invoked the spell," it

subsided without doing harm.

Last meeting - self-hypnosis: the simulator of the mind and programming

Ruthi came to me a few times more before I "released her from coaching." She

said she had gained weight and asked my help in losing it. We toured into the

Inner Space of Calmness and there I told her to imagine herself slim and light,

jumping and running. I told her to imagine holding a big bottle of water and

drinking from it after taking a deep breath. I told her to visualize herself eating a

meal, mostly fresh vegetables. I told her that whenever she sees bread or a

cake she should take five deep breaths, drink some water and eat one of her

favorite vegetables. After I took her out of the session, I told her to write down

her association for healthy light food and exercising. I told her to visualize

pictures of her wearing tight jeans and everyone flattering her about her new

look. Ruthi chose music with Theta waves entrained in it. This time I felt she

was confident enough to do the self-hypnosis process by herself.

Closure of Ruthi's observation

Ruthi came to me for spiritual coaching because she was disappointed with the

psychological treatment she had undergone for five years. She felt stuck in her

life. She said she was stressed, couldn't sleep, was about to leave her job, and

was very unhappy about her relationship with a married man. Our first meeting

focused on creating a dialogue and achieving mutual understanding and

expectations. I felt the stress in her life was like an "inner tsunami" where she

had no clear view of the right direction. I told her that for the next three meetings

60
(each of which lasted 90 minutes), we would concentrate on creating the Inner

Space of Calmness – which is an essential tool for her to manage the stress in

her life, so she could utilize her energies to see where she's headed and be

more confident in her self.

The last meeting was actually the one where I taught her how to use the

Inner Space of Calmness as the basis for self-hypnosis setup for her diet

problem. The interaction with Ruthi was very good. She was open-minded, felt

secure in the process and was willing to exercise the Inner Space of Calmness

that expanded the choices of behavior and integrated it as a solution for coping

in stressful life situations. An indicator for her success in using the inner calming

space was when she requested training for her diet scenario, using self-

hypnosis based on the inner space, music, and her own scenario for diet.

Observing Dan:

Dan: male, age: 38, lives in: a kibbutz, in a rented house.

Status: divorced for almost a year. He has two children.

Education: BA in Economics and Accounting from Tel-Aviv University

The reason for arrival: Dan came to me because he felt depressed and

stressed - at work and with his wife. His boss was not promoting him and wasn't

giving him responsibility commensurate with his talents. He worked in a security

organization. Regarding his wife, he felt she talked disparagingly about him with

their children (a girl of six, and a boy of eight).

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History: Dan left his wife after ten years of an unhappy marriage. He felt she

wasn’t the right one for him, that their marriage had been a mistake. His wife

was self-centered, didn’t care about his needs, and there was a big

psychological gap between them. He had been in the security organization for

the past five years and took home a good salary. Though he felt he could do

better in a technology-based business, he didn’t have the courage to leave or to

start something new.

Mapping Dan's multidimensional situation when he arrived for coaching

Behavioral – nervous, angers easily, shouts at people in traffic-jams.

Physical – lower back problems.

Emotional – Depressed, nervous, disappointed in himself. Felt he hadn't

fulfilled his talents. He feels his wife is manipulating his children against him.

Interpersonal – has friendly relations with women, but doesn't build steady

relationships. Says he wants to have fun, but doesn't in fact have the energy to

do so. Bad relationship with his ex-wife influenced his moods. He got mad that

even after he left her, she still influenced his life.

Mental – criticizes himself. He felt he didn't use his mental capabilities at work.

Needed more challenges but didn’t know in what direction.

Spiritual – Though he studied economy and accounting, he was intrigued by

unknown areas such as mystics. Interested in energy and telepathy.

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First meeting - Preparation for sensing the Inner Space of Calmness

Behavioral - Make a commitment to practice inner touring, meaning - calming

biological systems, thoughts and emotions and reaching the inner space of

calmness with personal associations at least once a day: twenty minutes of no

phone-calls or interruptions. Dan was very interested in meditation. He was

aware that his life was not balanced and he wanted to give a chance to the

approach of Inner Space of Calmness perception.

Physical - Be aware of the tendency to become physically tense. Loose your

body, even at work. Stretch your legs, lift your arms, breathe deeply five times.

Drink water, sipping slowly.

Though I didn’t intend to, he was so tense that I suggested a massage. Dan

liked the physical contact. His back hurt, but he trusted me. I felt his tensed

muscles. As I gave him a massage, I told him to focus his attention on his body

parts (something we don’t usually do unless something hurts us.) I told him to

imagine that body part as being a kindergarten child who needs attention, love

and care. That’s why massage is important for allaying physical tension. It also

has a positive psychological effect. When we have a partner, the mutual touch

is natural, but if we're alone, we should have someone to massage us.

Emotional – focusing on observing the emotions: where are my emotions

located in my body? What's their volume? Their weight? Their color? What's

their name? – Anger, fear, frustration, envy? Or… joy, happiness, love,

compassion? Dan observed his emotions, and said where they were located.

He felt heaviness in his shoulders and lower back. He described his emotions

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as soft pain, as soft sadness. At work, he said, he feels it coming like waves. He

said his breath was short and heavy.

Inter-Personal - Clarify who can give you empathy, support, peace of mind,

with whom do you feel very natural and free. with no conflicts or restraints? Who

can give you space freely? Dan said that his children make him very happy

when he's with them, but then when he returns them to their mother, he feels

empty. He said he was not in any deep relationship with one specific woman; he

was dating several women but none of them really touched his heart.

Mental – observing together the left- and right-brain functions. Observing the

dialogue between thoughts, emotions and physical sensations. Observing

associations and conditioning. Observing the rationale behind creating the bio-

psychological inner calming space. Dan is a realistic person with openness and

curiosity for higher perception. He was willing to experience new tools to

manage his stress.

Spiritual – observing questions such as: what is love? What is space in the

mind? What is the meaning of limitation of thoughts? Humanity connectivity?

Perception beyond thoughts. Dan said something deep within him was impelling

him to explore mystics, metaphysics. He said that when he read my article in

La'isha magazine, he knew he needed to meet me.

Second meeting – choosing the music, and associations for calmness

I did a twenty-minute massage to relax Dan's physical body and suggested that

he listen to two different music pieces. [Dan came to the meeting in a good

mood. He told me he had a good day at work, he was a bit hyperactive in the

way he talked] I told him that part of the process of building the inner space is

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the combination of experiencing calmness and being able to observe his

experience at the same time. I told him that he should pay attention to his body

cells, his inner body organs and the process of change they go through, as the

stress releases itself through the physical touch and the music. I asked him to

listen to the first piece of music for ten minutes and told him that if he didn’t like

it right away, to let me know. After five minutes he said the music was putting

him to sleep and asked for the other option. After twenty minutes of massage,

he was lying relaxed and smiling. He chose – "Inner Journey" from Metamusic –

Monroe's Institute series.

I asked him to breathe deeply - then to tour his body parts and smile at

them. I told him to close his eyes and for the next twenty minutes to imagine the

calmness space in his mind. I told him that I would be around and "hold the

space for him;" that he was the "driver of his life" and could choose where to

drive and what scene of calmness to create. He could bring an association from

a real scene of calmness and silence that he had experienced in the past - a

scene of harmonious quiet space, and could also use his pure imagination to

create the scene. He should feel free to express himself out loud, and if he

wanted me to enter his calmness space in "real time" as it came to his

imagination, I would be able to. I turned on the music for the next twenty

minutes, with my notebook at my side. After a few minutes, Dan started talking

and I wrote.

He said he was walking on the sea shore. He was walking barefoot on

the soft sand. Soft waves of cool fresh water covered his feet. The sky was

clear. The sun was warm but not hot. He saw a flight of birds in an arrow shape

over his head. He said he felt a combination of confidence and happiness. He

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said he knew where he was going in his life and this gave him the feeling of

calmness. He said he felt good with his "look & feel."

When Dan opened his eyes, he was smiling. His eyes were shining. I

asked him to observe his physical body, thoughts and emotions. I asked him to

grade his tranquility on a scale of 1 to 10 and he said he felt it was 8. I told Dan

that the idea was to be able to retrieve the experience of calmness upon body-

mind whenever he wanted. I asked him which symbol he preferred to use in

order to trigger the Inner Space of Calmness. He said that he preferred to hold

the key of his car.

Third meeting - the tour

Dan was actually acquainted with most of the tour already, but this time the

main aim of the meeting was – the calmness inner space tour:

1 Calming physical organs, thought and emotions.

2 Building the calmness inner space – using his associations of the calmness

of the sea.

3. Connecting his symbol - the car-key.

Again I explained the importance of experiencing body-mind deep harmonious

relaxation and the bio-psychological effect of music. How alpha waves

technology entrains the brain waves and creates tranquility in the mind - the

way it happens during the first stage of sleep. Dan was ready for the tour. We

did some breathing exercises, he drank some water and we started the tour. He

lay on the massage bed, while I was calming his external body parts (forehead,

cheeks…), I touched them gently and sensed his gradual relaxation taking

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place. When I got to the part of describing the Inner Space of Calmness – I

used his seashore associations and added some more details in his direction to

make the scene longer, with more details in the framework of his associations.

Then I made the connection between the key and the whole sensation of bio-

psychological calmness, harmony and balance. When he opened his eyes he

said: "I feel a combination of joy and silence."

I explained to him how important it was to practice the tour at least once

a day for twenty minutes. Next, I described the process of how the mind-body

"records in memory" the sense of deep relaxation and the idea of the positive

conditioning by executing the sense of relaxation by holding the key. Dan loved

the idea that he can manage his stress with no need of medicine or other

external tools. I felt he had the self-motivation to exercise and deepen the sense

of Inner Space of Calmness.

Last meeting: self hypnosis, the simulator of the mind and programming

We continued to practice the tour every time Dan came for a coaching session.

He told me it worked for him. He was using the inner space during traffic-jams,

and also when he interacted with his wife and with his boss. What he liked best,

he said, was his changed reactions to social situations. He said he doesn’t lose

his temper and feels that this is a natural behavior. Before he left the coaching

sessions, he asked me to help him with his insomnia. He said that whenever he

needs to go to the toilet at night, he couldn’t fall asleep right away and

sometimes it took him hours to fall asleep again. I told him he didn't need me for

that, that he should apply the same technique we had used in the calmness

inner space in order to build a new scenario for his sleep:

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1. Tour yourself into the Inner Space of Calmness.

2. When your body-mind is silence – thought and emotions are calm, but your

consciousness is sharp - use your imagination as the simulator of your mind.

3. Imagine a scenario that can lead you back into deep sleep. Think of an

experience or visualize a situation that leads your inner environment to feel at

peace, confident - and let go.

4. It could be a routine action such as walking down 25 stairs into a beautiful

presidential bed or any other association that does not arouse your thoughts but

just do an action – slowly and harmoniously. When I talked with Dan two weeks

ago, he said that he did what I suggested and something surprising had

happened - he no longer woke up in the middle of the night.

Closure of Dan's observation

Dan came for coaching because he felt his career was going nowhere and his

ex-wife was giving him a hard time with their children. He said he had no

patience for anyone and was stressed all the time. He was also intrigued

intellectually by "what was behind spiritual coaching." The first meeting was

based on creating a dialogue and for adjusting mutual understanding and

expectations. I told him that for the next three meetings (each one lasting 90

minutes), we would focus on creating the Inner Space of Calmness which is an

essential tool for managing stress.

Dan felt bored with his life, and experiencing interaction with mind-body

new perception gave him new interest. He practiced the inner calming space

and reported to me on his progress. The last meeting was actually the one

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where I taught him how to use the Inner Space of Calmness as the basis for

self-hypnosis, to find solutions for his sleeping problem. The interaction with

Dan was good. As in Ruthi's case, there was a good dialogue and an

atmosphere of trust. Dan paid attention and was aware of the process his mind-

body went through as he learned to create and exist in the calmness inner

environment. Dan's motivation to exercise the Inner Space of Calmness every

day deepened the experience in his memory, and exercising the calmness

space in daily life by "pressing his symbolic button" – his car-key - made him

realize it worked. He said he felt he was managing his stress and was far more

relaxed in irritating situations. An indicator for his successful use of the inner

calming space was when he asked me to coach him for a solution for his

sleeping problem, using self-hypnosis.

Observing Yossi

Yossi: male, age: 45, lives in: Ashdod – rented house.

Status: bachelor.

Education: aircraft engineering.

The reason for arrival: Yossi came to me because he felt he was "turned off"

and nothing was working out for him. He hadn't found the right woman, he had

been let go from work. He felt he didn’t know how to interact in personal

relationships at work, and in romantic relationships

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History: Yossi is a religious man, though he does not wear a skullcap. He was

born in Iran to a religious family. He has six brothers, and has never been in a

long-term relationship.

Mapping Yossi's multidimensional situation in our first session

Behavioral – insecure in the way he talks and expresses himself.

Physical – Yossi is very short – 1.60 meters. His voice was hoarse.

Emotional – Yossi was sad and angry. He feels he hasn't had any luck in life,

although he is intelligent. He felt frustrated that "nobody really gave him a

chance" – as he says.

Interpersonal – Yossi had many dilemmas in his private life – especially with

women. He had endured a huge "collection of disappointments" with women he

met on blind dates, who didn’t want to meet him again. At work, he was let go

from a large aircraft industry. He felt it was because of his sensitivity and his

incapability to "be political."

Mental – He is intelligent in his field (engineering). He was self-trained in

professional matters and was motivated to learn more.

Spiritual – Yossi is a religious man, who does not wear a skullcap. His religion

is the outcome of an orientation toward tradition but not driven by a deep

philosophical point of view.

The first meeting - preparation for sensing the Inner Space of Calmness

Behavioral - Make a commitment to exercise inner touring, meaning - calming

biological systems, thoughts and emotions and reaching the inner space of

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calmness with personal associations at least once a day. Twenty minutes

without phone calls and interruptions. Yossi said he would try. Since he's never

done meditation or guided imagery before, he had no idea how well he could

commit himself. He said he was not sure he possessed the willpower for the

long run.

Physical - Be aware of tendencies to become physically tense. Loose your

body, even at work. Stretch your legs lift your arms, breathe deeply five times.

Drink slow sips of water. Yossi said that in the past few years he hadn't done

any sport. At work he sat for hours in front of a computer, and he felt the tensed

muscles when I asked him to focus his attention on them.

Emotional – focusing on observing the emotions: where are my emotions

located in the body? What's their volume? Their weight? Their color? What's

their name? – Anger, fear, frustration, envy? Or… joy, happiness, love,

compassion? Yossi didn’t understand what I was talking about when I asked

him to "observe emotions." I asked him what mood he was in and he said –

"nothing, indifferent…" he didn’t want to go into the field of emotions.

Interpersonal - Clarify who can give you empathy, support, peace of mind, with

whom do you feel very natural, free, with no conflicts or restraints? Who can

give you space freely? Yossi said that he felt free with his sisters; apart from

them, he had two good friends who do not live in Israel. Yossi didn’t have close

friends and now that he has been fired, he said that his contacts with people –

women and job interviews - were always a failure.

Mental – observing together the left- and right-brain functions. Observing the

dialogue between thoughts, emotions and physical sensations. Observing

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associations and conditioning. Observing the rationale behind creating the bio-

psychological inner calming space. Yossi said he was the realistic type. He said

he doesn’t know how to observe thoughts, emotions and sensations. He said

that he felt unsolved problems keep flowing through his mind and trouble him,

especially when he went to sleep.

Spiritual – observing questions such as: what is love? What is space in the

mind? What is the meaning of limitation of thoughts? Humanity connectivity?

Perception beyond thoughts. Yossi said he believed in God and in the Jewish

religious laws. He said he was not fanatically religious but he keeps the

Sabbath, the kosher laws, and attended synagogue on the High Holidays.

Second meeting – choosing the music, choosing associations for

calmness

I performed a twenty-minute massage to relax Yossi's body. At first, he

hesitated, saying he had a massage experience only twice in his life, but then

he agreed. He lay on the bed and I suggested that he listen to two different

music passages. [Yossi cooperated, but he was a bit cynical and said he

doesn’t understand music]. I told him that a precondition for the process is to

be open-minded, not negative; that part of the process of building inner space is

a combination of experiencing calmness and being able to observe the

experience at the same time. Let go, I suggested, and just choose one of the

music disks. He liked the "Dreamer Journey" from Meta music from the Monroe

Institute series, and didn’t want to hear anything else.

I asked him to breathe deeply and to scan his body parts and feel

whether they were tensed. I chose my words carefully to stay in the vocabulary I

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felt he could accept and didn’t react to negatively. I told him to close his eyes

and for the next twenty minutes to imagine the calmness space in his mind. I

explained to him that he can recall an experience of calmness situation from his

memory, or he could use his imagination. I told him to feel free to share the

situation with me. My notebook was by my side. Yossi didn’t say a word. He fell

asleep. I woke him up after twenty minutes and he was embarrassed. He said

he had felt so relaxed that he fell asleep. It was a good sign, I told him, that he

could let go and trust the place. So I asked him to give me five words of

automatic association with the concept of calmness that arose in his mind right

away. He said: bed, sleep, blue, blanket, nature, water, night sky with stars, and

his mother.

I told Yossi that when we do the tour, I'll use these association words for

the guided imagery of the Inner Space of Calmness. I explained to him that it

would help his mind to encode the experience of the relaxation of body organs,

thoughts and emotions. I asked him what symbol he preferred to use in order to

trigger the Inner Space of Calmness. He said that he preferred to hold two

fingers together.

Third meeting: the tour

I gave Yossi the CD with the music he chose, for the weekend. It was important

for him to listen to it and to pay attention to his mind-body relaxation process

while listening to the music. He told me he'd liked it - it helped him relax before

sleeping and as a background when he read a book. I explained to him the

stages of the tour which are part of the process of building his own calmness

inner space:

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1 Calming physical organs, thought and emotions.

2 Building the calmness inner space – using his calmness words associations

3. Connecting his space to the symbol he chose - the two attached fingers.

I explained to him that the inner space is a basis for clearing the inner storm of

emotions, thoughts and physical stress that compose inner conditioned habits in

his perception and prevent him from making changes. We started the tour. He

lay on the massage bed, while I was calming his external body parts (forehead,

cheeks…), I touched them easily so that his focus would concentrate on them

and prevent his thoughts from getting in the way of the tour. When I got to the

part of describing the Inner Space of Calmness, I used the words he had

mentioned in the previous session. I added some more details in his direction to

make the scene longer and deeper. Then I made the connection between the

two attached fingers to the whole sensation of bio-psychological calmness,

harmony and balance. When he opened his eyes he said "I feel good, like on

vacation with no worries." I explained to him the importance of practicing the

tour at least once a day for twenty minutes.

I described the process of how the mind-body "records in memory" the

sense of deep relaxation and the idea of positive conditioning by executing the

sense of relaxation by holding two fingers together. As we talked, I felt that

there was a deep understanding that transcended words as to the necessity of

the inner space as an environment of clarity of perception. He said "I see how

my mind is disturbed by so many rules, that I can't really see what to do." I told

Yossi that it's essential for him to do the tour at least once a day for twenty

minutes in order to strengthen the encoding of the calmness space experience

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in his memory, and also to exercise the operation of the two fingers and figure

out whether he felt the Inner Space of Calmness running through his body-

mind.

Last meeting: self-hypnosis – the simulator of the mind and programming

Yossi came to see me for five more coaching sessions. Every meeting we

exercised the Inner Space of Calmness as a basis for his inter-relational

problems - with women on blind dates, and during job interviews. We took the

tour and then I gave him interaction situations. He brought with him a job

advertised in a newspaper and we rehearsed a possible interview - body

language, observing what to emphasize in his character that complies with the

job requirements. In this case, the Inner Space of Calmness was a basis for

sharpening the senses in order to understand the situation he was in, and to

react the best way possible in order to get the job. I told him that some

parameters for accepting the job don’t depend on him. For example - the formal

knowledge expected from him - what is important is to be the best in those

areas where he excels and that can be an advantage for him. We did the same

with rehearsing blind-date meetings.

We made simulations of the profiles of women he was interested in and

how to dialogue in a way that can build up good, effective social interaction.

Yossi decided to quit the sessions when he said he was short of money. He told

me that I had given him tools to cope with different dimensions of life. He said

that he rehearsed the Inner Space of Calmness at home, and felt confident

about it. He said he felt more then ever that he was living in conventional habits

of thinking and doing, and that they were not always beneficial for him. He said

he was more minded to the situation he was in, during interactions. The Inner

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Space of Calmness allowed him to observe the other person's point of view

and needs.

Closure of Yossi's observation

Yossi came for coaching because he was unemployed and was unlucky with

women: he needed my coaching on those issues. He was a modern religious

person with many traditional values. He was an aircraft engineer but felt he

hadn't succeeded in his job since he was not an aggressive person. The first

meeting was based on creating a dialogue and for mutual understanding and

expectations. I told him that during the next three meetings (each lasting 90

minutes), we would focus on creating the Inner Space of Calmness - an

essential tool for managing stress.

Initially, Yossi wasn’t too sure about the inner space calmness. It was

hard for him at first to concentrate on his mind-body sensations, and it took him

a while to open up. He said he was exercising the inner space at home, but not

systematically. At our last meeting I taught him how to use the Inner Space of

Calmness as the basis for self hypnosis, to gain confidence in himself on blind

dates and with job-interview simulations.

At first, the interaction with Yossi didn’t flow smoothly. It took more time

to gain his trust in the process, but it did work eventually. Yossi was strongly

motivated by activating the inner calming space as the basis for the simulations

we did. He gained confidence in himself and was intrigued by opening up and

viewing the other's person point of view (a woman with different values than his,

and the possibility of a tough job interviewer).

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4. Discussion & Conclusion

The aim of this thesis is to explore the components that together build a psycho-

physiological perception of Inner Space of Calmness, and in addition to

examine the process of activating it "on request" for the purpose of reducing

stress and improving wellbeing. In fact, the thesis questions focus on the

conditions that create a state of holistic mind-body inner sense of relaxation and

harmony which I call "inner space of calmness." The use of self-hypnosis was

also explored as a self-regulation tool for reconditioning behaviors.

The observation methodology was used to describe the process of building

a personal psycho-physiological inner space of calmness, in three cases and

later on to observe how they operated it upon themselves, in order to reduce

stress on request. The ability to "operate the inner space" can give further

motivation for people to use the special music as an environment for self-

hypnosis of reconditioning bad habits and replacing them with more suitable

ones.

The questions examined were:

1. What preparations are needed to awaken the awareness and attention for

perceiving inner space?

2. What music characteristics are essential for deep relaxation?

3. How can guided imagery, together with calming music, enhance the

perception of Inner Space of Calmness?

4. What is the process of mind control and positive conditioning to operate

calmness on request, and what is its effectiveness?

5. How can self-hypnosis methods, together with calming music, assist in the

self-reprogramming of conditioned compulsive habits and unwanted behavior

and their replacement with healthier and balanced ones?

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 Though the thesis is based on documenting the process of three cases

only, which is not a quantity parameter for generalization, I came to realize that

although people come from different backgrounds, cultures, experiences,

personalities and genes, there are some basic common denominators in mind-

body interactions, psycho-physiological sensation and awareness:

1. In our ordinary life, we don’t pay attention to our inner organs. The

experience of calming them through guided imagery seems like a new

experience. Physical massage is also a very important part of the process of

awareness to the shift between stressed and relaxed organs. A person can

duplicate the idea of releasing muscle tension by massage into focusing

awareness on calming and releasing the inner organs, together with the help of

the music and the guided imagery tour.

2. Calming thoughts and emotions is not an easy task, since we are not talking

of manipulating a physical object, but a subjective sensation of implementing

the guided imagery's words upon the consciousness. I learned that the idea of

calming thoughts "like a silent clear ocean" transmits a good inner feeling of a

steady and quiet mind as opposed to a stormy one. Focusing on emotions

brings new awareness and observation that people don’t usually attain.

Questions such as "where are the emotions located in the body? Their name,

weight, colors" bring new ways of inner observation. The actual attention on

examining - which emotion is dominant - is in itself a tool of self-regulation and

enables a deep understanding of the ability to change non-harmonious

emotions.

3. Relying on Bonny's MIT method, it is helpful to use personal association of

the calmness space environment and also to let the person choose the most

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effective and affective music in order to make a positive multidimensional

encoding of the calmness space perception in the memory / subconscious. The

same goes for the person's choice of the trigger symbol to retrieve the

calmness inner space sensation on his body-mind whenever needed. We saw

that music is a dialogue language between mind and body. The "right music,"

especially the one with alpha brain waves entrained, is an effective "glue"

attaching the Inner Space of Calmness to memory and subconscious, along

with the bio-psychological sensation of calmness environment.

4. Just like in sport - the more one practices, the more effectively one can build

and retrieve the Inner Space of Calmness. It seems that Ruthi, Dan and Yossi,

though drawn from different backgrounds, experienced in their unique bio-

psychological way their own Inner Space of Calmness, even if only for a few

minutes. The experience was strong enough to encourage their willpower and

motivation to exercise it at home. Though I asked them to free up at least

twenty minutes of their time to do the tour into their inner space, I didn’t ask

them whether they actually did it every day. From talking with them at the end of

the tour we exercised and implemented the inner space, I felt that for the three

of them, there was a psychological confidence that they can do it if/when they

want because the bio-psychological experience of inner calmness was so

strong.

5. I don’t know whether Ruthi lost weight using self-hypnosis techniques with

the calmness space and music, or whether Yossi got a job, or started a new

stable relationship. I do know that Dan's sleeping problem was solved, and

moreover that all three of them obtained a profound understanding of the

process of calming the mind and reconditioning a new set of behaviors that

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could replace compulsive or negative behaviors. This understanding goes

beyond conventional learning because it has a bio-psychological effect and

affect. The language of multidimensional encoding is stronger than any training

or learning because it touches thoughts, emotions and sensations. It is an

experience whose power transcends verbal expression.

Returning to Ziff's multidimensional model - it cites the stages in which a

coach (or a therapist in his case) facilitates the process of replacing negative

mind-body habits with more appropriate habits, and successfully integrating the

changes. According to that model, when there is a good and effective dialogue

between the coach and the person, when the person feels s/he is in a safe

environment, is aware of the situation s/he is in, has motivation to learn new

methods and expand choices (such as the Inner Space of Calmness

perceptions), and when s/he practices it to "operate it upon the being" – on

request, eventually it becomes part of her/his natural self-management tools. In

that case, the Inner Space of Calmness will positively affect the six dimensions

in the following ways:

Behavioral – when the body-mind is relaxed, when emotions and thoughts are

harmonious and balanced, behavior is not impulsive or aggressive. Having an

inner space helps observe the situation more objectively and creates an inner

environment for changing compulsive behavior or bad habits such as smoking,

compulsive eating, anger and stress.

Physical – when our physical body is relaxed and in comfort, there is an inner

contentment and confidence in ourselves and our ability to make positive

changes.

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Emotional - Inner Space of Calmness is a 'safe-space' for observing feelings

as they arise. We can be sensitive to waves of emotions - when they appear

and how they are triggered, by outside environment or by our own body-mind.

By watching emotions, with no judgment, we can free ourselves from slavery to

negative inharmonious emotions or taking them too seriously, because we learn

their mobility–dynamic character and their relative importance for us.

Inter-Personal – when we have an inner space of calmness we can release

energy for being more sensitive to others by giving them empathy, support,

encouragement, and/or guidance. With our inner space we can try to

understand other points of view, not focusing solely on ourselves.

Mental – Inner Space of Calmness can release energy to observe the

conditioning of the mind. It can help us see the relativity and limitation of our

thoughts. "Thoughts can be grasped as clouds" - they come and go. When we

fly in an airplane and enter a cloud, we think that the whole world is gray and

shaky, but as we fly out of it we see there is, and always was, the blue sky. It is

the same with thoughts. When we have a calmness space in the mind, we see

the limitation of thoughts and perceptions. We become more modest because

we have realized that there is a perception beyond our own knowledge - that

we acquired with our senses.

Spiritual – when we perceive Inner Space of Calmness we feel connectivity

between the inner being and the world – we "breathe the world into us " and

release everything that is no longer needed. When meeting another person who

experiences Inner Space of Calmness, though you have a separate physical

body, different genes, and your unique stock of experiences, there is a spiritual

knowledge like a shared secret. It is the feeling of being two cells of one

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organism called humanity. Both of us experience Inner Space of Calmness and

the space is one - which passes through both of us.

Limitations of having effective Inner Space of Calmness

If we observe human beings, there is no question that regardless of genes,

culture or region, we all need sleep to regain power and vitality. In a way, sleep

is a kind of inner calmness environment which we all experience as a natural

mind-body behavior. But once in awhile, we all experience a dreadful dream

that make us sweat and worry for hours after waking.

This thesis assumes that theoretically, every person, independently of

his/her origins or background, is capable of creating an Inner Space of

Calmness and operating it by request. In reality, reaching an inner mind-body

environment of calmness and peace and being aware of it is not a trivial task to

all people. Among the difficulties that arise is the ability to calm thoughts and

emotions. In many cases, and usually when one first practices the tour,

thoughts and emotions interfere with the guided imagery and the music, leading

the person to other scenarios in his/her consciousness instead of deepening the

process of calmness. Therefore, the necessity of practicing the tour of calming

inner organs, thought and emotions – together with the music and guided

imagery - is essential to encode the experience of Inner Space of Calmness.

Thus, as seen with the people who approached me for coaching, implementing

the Inner Calming Space requires discipline, attention and motivation to practice

the tour at least once every day, for two weeks.

Another limitation could be people with physical or psychological illness

with pain. In this case, the coach needs more time in supporting the process of

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creating the Inner Space of Calmness with such people, because they may not

have the efforts and power to do it by themselves.

Suggested areas for further research and study

The thesis did not investigate the differing effectiveness of classical music and

binaural music in creating the Inner Space of Calmness, and this could be an

interesting issue for exploration. Moreover, not only music vibrations and

harmonic tones can be significant in leading the guided imagery tour

successfully in the process of creating the Inner Space of Calmness, but the

voice of the coach as well. This issue can also be investigated.

There are many parameters that can influence a person's motivation in the

process of building up the Inner Space of Calmness. This work does not deal

with the question of estimating if there is a social or psychological profile of a

person who uses the calmness inner space together with alpha music as a self-

management tool, more than others, and also goes further by using self-

hypnosis to change unpleasant habits or compulsive behavior.

There is little doubt that, in the long-run, reducing stress has

physiological and psychological benefits in improving and maintaining good

health. From a socioeconomic point of view, the national health budget could be

reduced by educating for stress self-management. Further research can focus

on training teachers and students to create Inner Space of Calmness at

schools, and thus reduce stress, violence, and examination phobia.

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