The West

In the 20th century, the west became the technological wizards of Medicine, Psychology, and Pharmacology. These are the institutions that drive the health industry. Over 70% of medical and psychological visits are for stress related disorders. We live in an economic world, and the profit is in disease maintenance, not resolution. We live in a world where mental health is defined as an absence of mental illness; we have learned to accept ‘not uncomfortably ill’ rather than balanced, healthy, and exceptional.

Science has only begun to study emotion in the last fifteen years. In that time, affective neuroscience (the brain science linking thoughts, emotion, feelings, and cognition) has overturned beliefs long held medicine and psychology – forcing a philosophical shift in how we look at ourselves, our physical and mental health, and our potential.

While psychology developed with little or no regard to the workings of the brain, it has slowly begun migrating from its origins in philosophy and the humanities to join the brain sciences. That shift has come about as brain research makes clear the fundamental neural basis of our mental and emotional lives. The differences between a troubled mind and a healthy one are clearly visible on a brain scan.

Neurofeedback has grown out of medical neuroscience, and it’s clear that it’s highly effective. The main opposition from the medical / psychological community is that the mechanisms at work are not well understood, and it doesn’t actually DO anything – rather it provides your brain a tool to self regulate, and that simply isn’t in their paradigm. Self balance techniques are often dismissed as ‘quackery’, in much the same way as diet, exercise, and maintaining a positive attitude once were.

In 1969 brain wave feedback (the ancestor of what we do) was used by NASA to eliminate epileptic fits in astronauts caused by contact with rocket fuel – with an 85% success rate and no side effects. It’s still used in the treatment of epilepsy today. In the 1970’s the brainwave field fell into ridicule as research on ESP, spiritual adepts and consciousness made it a scientific laughing stock. Research in the area was career suicide. Many pioneers continued without funding, and by the late 1990’s neurofeedback techniques became too effective to ignore.

Neuroscience is one of the most rapidly advancing fields today, hailed as the most promising field for human advancement of the 21st century. This is the basis for the work we do.

Computer advances and forty years of research and development into neurofeedback made it more efficient and accessible. Brain state technology software was released in 2004, bringing the new paradigm of balance and harmony into mainstream practice, reducing the cost by increasing efficacy. Results are achieved quickly, efficiently, naturally, and without intrusion.

However, while technology moves fast, institutions move slowly. Professional organisations are by nature slow and highly reluctant to change point of view. Approaches such as ours are often dismissed out of hand, ignored, and/or aggressively dispatched if they challenge the status quo. It’s an unfortunate side of human nature and the politics of progress.

Application of brain training has several goals. They include stabilizing overall brain function by strengthening the brain's ability to routinely produce brainwaves in healthy ranges, improving brain functioning in localized areas of the brain associated with specific problems an individual is experiencing, and improving the ability of the brain to shift from one brainwave state to another smoothly, effectively, and stay there as long as needed.