RET and Entwined Senses

"Hearing and sight are deeply intertwined."

A study shows that the senses of "hearing and sight are deeply intertwined" - as they are in Rapid Eye Technology.

The process of Rapid Eye Technology marries visual perception of rapid motion with rapid emotion-laden auditory input to affect an emotional release. The technique has proven successful for many clients seeking relief from emotional troubles and for those seeking to improve themselves in a number of areas.

Another study on the relationship between visual and auditory channels used in RET has emerged from UCLA.

“Most of us understand that smell affects taste. But people tend to think that what they see is what they see and what they hear is what they hear.”

The findings of a study at UCLA, published by the American Psychological Assn, concludes,

“…that, even at a non-conscious level, visual and auditory processes are not so straightforward,” says cognitive neuroscientist and study co-author Robyn Kim. “Perception is actually a very complex thing affected by many factors.”

 

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Path to true happiness ‘revealed’

From BBC NEWS 11-15-05
Path to true happiness ‘revealed’
Experts believe they have found the essential ingredients to make a person’s life happier.

The 10 steps to happiness

  • Plant something and nurture it
  • Count your blessings – at least five – at the end of each day
  • Take time to talk – have an hour-long conversation with a loved one each week
  • Phone a friend whom you have not spoken to for a while and arrange to meet up
  • Give yourself a treat every day and take the time to really enjoy it
  • Have a good laugh at least once a day
  • Get physical – exercise for half an hour three times a week
  • Smile at and/or say hello to a stranger at least once each day
  • Cut your TV viewing by half
  • Spread some kindness – do a good turn for someone every day

Read the entire story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/health/4436482.stm

Chocolate For Stress?

Dark chocolate - good for stress? Yes!

Dark chocolate – good for stress? Yes! Good for you? Maybe not so much.

Maybe. Maybe not!

A recent article by the American Chemical Society (ACS) purports to extol the virtues of dark chocolate as a possible cure for stress. Apparently there is some substance to their study as it is getting plenty of press. Maybe that’s because we Westerners do like chocolate – and having a report that substantiates our appetite for the sweet confection adds to its reasonableness as a snack for us stressed-out folks.

Although it is nice that 1.4 oz of dark chocolate a day can significantly reduce stress over a two week period, it’s also true that “nobody can each just one!”

Let’s face it, some of us like chocolate A LOT – so much so that we might find it difficult to cut back to 1.4 oz per day!

I think it’s a bit early to start patting ourselves on the back for eating what is good for us each time we reach for the bonbons.

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The Scotoma Solution

A scotoma is a mental situation in which one locks on to one idea and excludes all others – known as the “lock on lock out” principle. We all do it – it’s our human way of avoiding overwhelm when faced with too many choices. However, a scotoma can get you into trouble as we shall explore here.

SpongebobIn a Spongebob Squarepants cartoon, Spongebob gets up one morning and thinks he’ll create a fantastic dessert for himself. Unfortunately, his choice of ingredients cause him to have horrific halitosis (bad breath). Spongebob proceeds to go outside, where he meets several people, all of whom scream and run away from him as soon as he opens his mouth and says, “Hello.”

His conclusion – “I must be terribly ugly!”
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Calm Down to Live Longer

Chronic stress kills.

Chronic stress kills.

According to Nicole Vogelzangs, PhD, of VU University Medical Center in The Netherlands and lead author of a study on the subject, high levels of the stress hormone cortisol strongly predicts cardiovascular death among persons with and without pre-existing cardiovascular disease. “Previous studies have suggested that cortisol might increase the risk of cardiovascular mortality, but until now, no study had directly tested this hypothesis,” said Vogelzangs. “The results of our study clearly show that cortisol levels in a general older population predict cardiovascular death, but not other causes of mortality.”

Chronic stress induces chronic high levels of cortisol in the bloodstream, which in turn predicts cardiovascular death. Chronic stress kills.

“Cortisol is an important component of the stress system of the human body but in higher concentrations can be harmful,” said Vogelzangs. “Our study shows that older persons with high levels of cortisol have an increased risk of dying from cardiovascular disease. This finding significantly adds evidence to the belief that cortisol can be damaging to the cardiovascular system.”

High blood cortisol levels should indicate immediate work on creating an effective strategy for calming down in the face of stress.

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Simple Lifestyle Changes May Improve Cognitive Function And Brain Efficiency

A UCLA research study published in the June issue of the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry found that people may be able to improve their cognitive function and brain efficiency by making simple lifestyle changes such as incorporating memory exercises, healthy eating, physical fitness and stress reduction into their daily lives.

“We’ve known for several years that diet and exercise can help people maintain their physical health and live longer, but maintaining mental health is just as important,” said lead investigator, Dr. Gary Small, professor of psychiatry and biobehavioral sciences at the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at UCLA. “The UCLA study is the first to show the impact of memory exercises and stress reduction used together with a healthy diet and physical exercise to improve brain and cognitive function.”

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Increased Stress

Stress can be easily managed by you from within you.

Stress can be easily managed by you from within you.

2009 “Perceptions of Stress in Adults”, a part of APA Study, Stress in America survey results show that adults continue to report high levels of stress and many report that their stress has increased over the past year. Additionally, many adults are reporting physical symptoms of stress.

75% of adults reported experiencing moderate to high levels of stress in the past month (24 % extreme, 51 % moderate) and 42 % reported that their stress has increased in the past year. 43 % of adults say they eat too much or eat unhealthy foods as a result of stress. 37% report skipping a meal because they were under stress.

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Rapid Eye Technology Could Save Your Life

RET tends to lower overall stress.

RET is more of a blanket approach in which overall stress is reduced simultaneously to reducing the stress of individual issues – known as a holistic approach. When overall stress levels are low and not easily triggered to higher levels, one is much less likely to experience a panic attack.

Rapid Eye Technology (RET) could save your life – literally! Why? Recent studies have demonstrated that panic attacks in post-menopausal women can substantially increase their risk for stroke and heart attack. RET tends to lessen spontaneous panic attacks by lessening overall stress levels while increasing overall resilience. RET is also amazingly effective on fears of any kind – fewer fears means fewer panic attacks.

Jordan W. Smoller, M.D., Sc.D., of Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, and colleagues studied 3,369 healthy postmenopausal women (age 51 to 83, average age 65.9). When they entered the study between 1997 and 2000, the women filled out a questionnaire about the occurrence of panic attacks in the previous six months. They were then followed for an average of 5.3 years to see whether they had a heart attack or stroke or died from any cause.

About 10 percent of the women reported having a full-blown panic attack in the six months prior to the study. After the researchers adjusted for other cardiovascular risk factors, having one or more panic attacks was associated with four times the risk of myocardial infarction (heart attack), three times the risk of having a heart attack or stroke and nearly twice the risk of death from any cause. These associations remained after controlling for depression, suggesting that panic attacks may be a separate, independent risk factor for cardiovascular events.

The results add panic attacks to the list of emotions and psychiatric symptoms that have already been linked to cardiovascular risk, including depression, anger and hostility, the authors note. Panic attacks could be associated with other cardiovascular risk factors, such as hypertension. Alternatively, anxiety could contribute to adverse cardiovascular effects, such as coronary artery spasm, tendency toward increased blood clotting or disturbances in heart rhythm.

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Distress-Prone People More Likely To Develop Memory Problems

forgot1.gifPeople who are easily distressed and have more negative emotions are more likely to develop memory problems than more easygoing people, according to a study by researchers at Rush University Medical Center published in the June 12 issue of Neurology, the scientific journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

In the study, those who most often experience negative emotions such as depression and anxiety were 40 percent more likely to develop mild cognitive impairment than those who were least prone to negative emotions. Mild cognitive impairment is a transitional stage between normal aging and dementia. People with mild cognitive impairment have mild memory or cognitive problems, but have no significant disability.

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Quelling the Common Cold?

My retort is, "Why not cure the common cold?" - or at least speed its healing and recovery time.

My retort is, “Why not cure the common cold?” – or at least speed its healing and recovery time.

Novel approaches to an old problem

Maybe you’ve heard the saying, “It will do everything but cure the common cold.” I’ve even had people tell me this about Rapid Eye Technology (RET). My retort is, “Why not cure the common cold?” – or at least speed its healing and recovery time. The law says I can’t claim that any process can cure any ailment. And there are no studies that conclusively demonstrate such. Still, when I feel a cold coming on, I know just what to do about it – and it works almost every time – a claim I’ve proven to myself on more than a few occasions!

It’s a bit expensive going to do a regular RET session every time you feel a cold coming on so I explored a number of alternative options you can do for yourself at home (or wherever you find yourself). I have two self-administered programs and one you can do with a RET technician – or a RET technician can do with a person suffering from cold symptoms – including symptoms of allergies, hay fever, and asthma. Try one or more of these ideas yourself – maybe one will work for you, too.

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