Welcome to Issue #67 (June 1, 2001) of MIND CHATTER, the twice-monthly e-mail newsletter of Centerpointe Research Institute: http://www.centerpointe.com Do you want to Unsubscribe?? Gasp!! Directions are at the end of the newsletter!) In This Issue: * MindQuotes * It Isn't Easy Being Real by Bill Harris * Glowing Testimonial of the Month * Mind Chatter Book Review: The Velveteen Rabbit By Margery Williams Bianco Review by Scott Spencer-Wolff * Announcements *** MIND CHATTER contains articles about: *Personal and spiritual growth in general *Meditation (high and low-tech) *Recovery from emotional trauma *Mind development *Superlearning *Cutting edge methods for increasing longevity *How evolution happens in the brain *Pretty much any other subject I get excited about and want to write about. You'll find MIND CHATTER in your e-mail box once every two weeks. Questions? Comments? Criticisms? Just want to eavesdrop? We hope you will join our community and participate in our Discussion Board: http://centerpointediscussion.adhost.com/ If you aren't in the program now and would like to hear a sample, please listen to our on-line Holosync® demo: http://www.centerpointe.com/demo/index.cfm Finally, if you aren't in the program already -- PLEASE JOIN! There's a RISK FREE one-year money-back guarantee and you can even pay in convenient payments on your credit card. You can join by calling 1-800-945-2741 or 503-672-7117 24 hours a day. Or, just click here: http://www.centerpointe.com/purchase/index.cfm We look forward to having you in the program! *** MindQuotes Great is the man who has not lost his childlike heart. --Mencius The greatest use of a life is to spend it on something that will outlast it. --William James Here is the test to find whether your mission on earth is finished: If you're alive, it isn't. --Richard Bach How far you go in life depends on you being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving and tolerant of the weak and the strong. Because someday in life you will have been all of these. --George Washington Carver However mean your life is, meet it and live it; do not shun it and call it hard names. It is not so bad as you are. It looks poorest when you are the richest. --Henry David Thoreau *** It Isn't Easy Being Real by Bill Harris I was just reading Scott's review of the classic children's book The Velveteen Rabbit (see below) and was struck by what a great parable this story is, and how well it captures the strong human urge "to be real." What does it mean to "be real"? Why in the world don't we feel "real" already? Why are we often dissatisfied? What is it we really want? In one sense, I don't think we really even know what we want. We just know on some level that we're not satisfied, that there must be "more." Perhaps we just want "to be happy," but what does "be happy" really mean? Often when we look around, if we're honest, we have to admit we have no right NOT to be happy already. Most of us have more (way more) creature comforts and fewer problems than 99% of people on this planet. Modern life is filled with solutions to problems that used to take most of a person's waking day to solve, such as finding food and shelter, or avoiding diseases that used to almost always kill. We have it pretty easy, yet we're still dissatisfied much of the time. Buddha described the human condition very succinctly in his "Four Noble Truths." Noble Truth #1 (are you sitting down?) is that all life is suffering. Birth involves suffering, death involves suffering, not getting what you want involves suffering, and even getting what you want involves suffering because everything is in time and eventually passes away. Noble Truth #2 is that life is suffering because of our attachment to things being the way we want them to be. Noble Truth #3 is that suffering can be ended by giving up attachment, and Noble Truth #4 is the method of doing so, called the Eight-fold path. This wisdom is not just Buddhist, however. Christians are pretty much saying the same thing, with a slight twist. So are Moslems, Taoists, Native Americans, and so on. It's true. Life involves a lot of suffering, and we don't like it. And the ultimate suffering is that our existence eventually ends -- with death. This is one of the main reasons why we have such a strong urge for identification with something bigger, higher, more all-inclusive than our limited selves. Though some other animals seem to have an awareness of death (elephants have been observed traveling in groups to the bones of dead relatives and lovingly and longingly caressing their bones, for instance), we are probably the only species who carry the realization of the inevitability of death with us for most of our lives. Let's zero in on Buddha's second Noble Truth, that suffering is caused by attachment. What is attachment? It's being addicted to "what is" being different than it is. Since "what is" is quite often (almost always?) different than we wish it would be, this leaves us with a lot of opportunity to suffer! Why do I use the word "addicted" in describing attachment? Because it is possible to have a preference that things be different than they are, and even to work to make them be different than they are, without suffering. To do so, you must prefer a certain outcome, but not be attached to it. This means your suffering does not increase if you don't get the outcome you want because you only prefer it rather than being addicted to it. Easier said than done, I hear you saying, and you are right. Being real, if you want to call it that, is hard work. One of the great things about Holosync® as a personal and spiritual growth tool is that it seems to develop that part of you that is unattached to outcomes, yet also strengthens that part of you that is able to manifest what you want in the world. One of the first things people notice in the program is that things that previously bothered them don't seem to have the same effect anymore -- the first sign of the development of the ability to prefer rather than suffer. Life is, and I'm sure always will be, an incredible awe-inspiring mystery. In administering this program, it is on one hand sad to come into contact with so many who want so badly "to be real" and one the other hand so gratifying to be able to help that happen. And underneath it all, we are sustained by that knowledge that we ARE part of something larger. Ironically, we're all "real" already, but often we can't see that we are. There is too much dust on the mirror of life to allow it to reflect back to us who we really are. Holosync® is our dust cloth, and as we use it, we more and can more clearly see who we really are. As a result, we suffer less, we love more, we create more in the world -- and we more and more allow "what is" to be as it is, without creating suffering for ourselves and those around us. So keep on with your search, keep using your Holosync® soundtracks, and thank you for being part of our world and letting us help. Be well. Bill Harris, Director *** Glowing Testimonial of the Month Here is a Personal Experience Record we recently received I thought you might find interesting: I'm submitting this record ahead of the monthly cycle because of a dramatic improvement of the effect I experience by combining this with my morning meditation. Experience during meditation: Normally erratic experiences combining boredom, sleep, spacing out. Now attentive the entire hour and focused on the insight practice I do. Very deep states of focus accompanied by occasional buzz, loss of body consciousness, intellectual insights, peace and a reliable meditation. I find using Holosync has multiplied the effect of my meditation practice by a factor of 10!! or is it the other way around? Experience immediately following meditation: Peace, insight, psychophysical balance, "mini-thrills" throughout the body that, typically refer to as kundalini phenomena. Emotional balance and sense of peace although accompanied by a "shortened fuse". I don't suffer fools gladly. Sleep experience: "Reliable" deep -- mostly dreamless or at least I don't recall them or very few. I sue the term "reliable" because before I started meditating I suffered a sleep disorder that caused a chronic type of restless sleep. Formerly, I was lucky if I had one or two good night's of sleep every two weeks. Now, nearly every night is a good night and I don't awaken with panic attacks. Experience immediately upon awakening: If I don't have a difficult challenge that day, I awaken eager to get up to meditate. If it seems like or if I know I have some challenges that day there may be some anxiety but I still feel generally good. I awaken rested. Daily experience of self: Again -- since changing Holosync Practice to the AM when I meditate, I enjoy an inner sense of calm during the day and a noticeable reduction of stress. I also find that when I get home in the evening, even after a difficult day, I'm in a much better mood and still have a sense of humor. Daily experience of your world and of others: -My experience is positive and peaceful. -My family relationships are more open & "smooth". -I'm more forgiving of others. -I'm pissing off my peers at work because they can't "get my goat" and my calmness seems to be a threat to them. When feeling overwhelmed: Typically, I withdraw and "hide out" while going through a mental litany of what's wrong with the world. However, I do less of this these days even though I have my moments. I'm finding that I'm more able to accept things and people as they are, with less judgement, anger, and indignation. Mark A. ** (Somebody loved the demo!!) UNBELIEVABLE! This demo was jaw dropping!! I have used Monroe's products, Mind-Tek's (Dane Spotts) products, and neither of them evoked the feelings, and sensations that I just experienced! I have searched long and hard with many disappointments to find this! What a feeling of relief! I have begun the journey by ordering the Awakening Prologue. I'll keep you updated. To answer all of your questions: The demo worked as it should, the instructions were easy to follow, I downloaded and installed RealPlayer 8, I found it very easy, I listened to the entire demo, I used stereo headphones, and yes, I FELT the EFFECTS of the Holosync Technology!! I wouldn't mind seeing more RealAudio demonstrations on your site. My hat goes off to everyone involved with Centerpointe and the Holosync technology. Thank you for making such an amazing product! Jan G. ** Free bonus testimonial: By email: Hello Marc, I just got done meditating a little while ago, and it dawned on me, as all enlightening things do. I have this feeling of being ok and it is hard to describe, but the world does not seem bland anymore. The weird thing is I have had this feeling almost every time I have finished meditating in the past , I am more aware of my own emotional well-being now. I feel good. I was just wondering if you could tell me a bit of what to expect in the future as a result of my own opening and expanding with meditation. Now I know each specific experience is different for each individual, but are there many things in common that meditators experience that you can tell me about? Perhaps to inspire me. I recall what you said in one of the support follow up letters a while ago "You ain't seen nothin yet". If that's true, then I am going to live with more passion than I ever dreamed. I haven't talked to anyone about meditation who uses holosync and I have absorbed almost all of the information in the support letters that stopped coming a while back. I guess I just want to hear something new, what to expect. Sincerely, M. *** A letter I received regarding my article about the new brain research concerning the meditation: Wednesday 16 May 01 9:46 AM Good Morning, The review of the Newberg and D'Aquili book was very nicely done. I had it on order before it was published. I was lucky to have stumbled onto the Discovery Channel show about his work. There is definitely a correlation between brain function he is observing and applications of Holosync. I have been particularly fascinated with the Theta State and its connection to the amygdala and hippocampus (emotional memory areas). I combine zazen meditation with Holosync and have worked on my own limbic system. If you haven't already, see Fredric Schiffer's book "Of Two Minds: The Revolutionary Science of Dual-Brain Psychology". He talks a lot about the limbic system. I communicated with him regarding Holosync technology and "getting to" the amygdala and hippocampus. I have recently found and subscribed to The Journal of Consciousness Studies and the Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience. They have many articles relevant to your work. Regards, steve schell Fort Collins *** Mind Chatter Book Review The Velveteen Rabbit By Margery Williams Bianco Illustrated Review by Scott Spencer-Wolff To learn more about or purchase this book, click here: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0385077254/wwwcenterpoincom It first happened in 1993. I was leading a men's retreat for a group from the Episcopal Church. One of the themes of the weekend was "personal mythology" and we wanted to introduce the topic by having people read selections from their favorite children's stories. Several worn and aged books trickled in. I didn't have any personal favorites myself. I grew up with the Hardy Boys and Bobsey Twins. Those were the earliest books I remember. I began to read through the slim and beautifully illustrated volumes, deciding on which I wanted to read out loud and spend some time with. About third down in the pile was The Velveteen Rabbit. I read it three times at that sitting, and it took a day for my system to settle down. What beautiful pain. This beautiful story about a toy rabbit was first published in 1922 and has been released several times since. It is, of course, a children's story, although the message, in true and classic parable form, reaches out to touch all ages. While it is a children's story, it is certainly not just a story for children -- an important distinction. A couple of weeks ago when I was at one of our neighborhood dinners, I was wondering what book to review next for Mind Chatter. My neighbor, Susie, suggested since I often spoke of the many parents who call Centerpointe and ask questions about whether this or that aspect of the program would be appropriate for children that perhaps a children's book would be a little change from the usual fare. The Velveteen Rabbit was my next thought. "ŠBut the Rabbit could not claim to be a model of anything, for he didn't know that real rabbits existed; he thought they were all stuffed with sawdust like himself, and he understood that sawdust was quite out-of-date. Even Timothy, the jointed wooden lion, who was made by disabled soldiers, and should have had broader views, put on airs. Between them all the poor little Rabbit was made to feel very insignificant and commonplace. " And thus so many of us feel one of the pack, or worse, less than one of the pack. We see ourselves as outdated, the runt of our group. Filled with yesterday's news. Scarcely able to live up to the expectations of our friends. "What is REAL?" asked the Rabbit one day, when they were lying side by side near the nursery fender, before Nana came to tidy the room. "Does it mean having things that buzz inside you and a stick-out handle?" "Real isn't how you are made," said the Skin Horse. "It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real." "Does it hurt?" asked the Rabbit. "Sometimes," said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. "When you are Real you don't mind being hurt." "Does it happen all at once, like being wound up," he asked, "or bit by bit?" "It doesn't happen all at once," said the Skin Horse. "You become. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't often happen to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand." And so this is, of course, our journey at Centerpointe -- to become real. But in becoming real we have to open ourselves to being loved. That's the hard part, because "when you're real you don't mind being hurt." And so many of us mind being hurt very much indeed. The journey to become real takes many twists and turns, and it isn't possible to continue looking pretty or handsome as one gets close to real. Our facade becomes insignificant. If we only had the confidence that once we become Real we can't be ugly. Ugly is no longer a possibility for us. So that is why becoming real doesn't often happen to people who break easily, who have not developed a capacity for resiliency, or who are very rigid in outlook and persona. Or it doesn't happen to people who have sharp edges, who are not easily able to adapt to the mischievous dance we call life. It certainly doesn't happen if you have to be carefully kept, with one's friends constantly on guard against saying things which might hurt, or offend. People who enjoy a victim stance are never real. "ŠThe Rabbit signed. He thought it would be a long time before this magic called Real happened to him. He longed to become Real, to know what it felt like; and yet the idea of growing shabby and losing his eyes and whiskers was rather sad. He wished that he could become Real without these uncomfortable things happening to him. " And so for most of us -- we want the circumstances of our lives to change without being willing to let go of our illusions and habitually limiting ways of being. We want to be Real and still look slick. It is only after being loved a lot that we begin to understand the difference between how we look and who we really are. How dearly we long to be real. To be able to feel deeply what life has to offer us without having to hide behind our filters, our justifications, our defenses. Perhaps, just perhaps, it is love that offers us the possibility to become real. I am not sure I can speak from personal experience, but something in the thought stirs and speaks to me deeply. When I was a child I was not taught that it was safe to love. I know, after having spoken to thousands of Centerpointe participants I know this is a common, familiar experience. This little book doesn't offer a path to love, or any kind of outline on how to love -- it is the experience of love itself. This summer your first spiritual assignment is to get a copy of The Velveteen Rabbit, from Amazon.com, or the public library. Read it once for yourself so that you can cry, and then share it out loud with a little person you love. Being loved can be safe . . ..this book makes me sure of it. To learn more about or purchase this book, click here: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0385077254/wwwcenterpoincom *** Announcements: 1. Our next retreat at beautiful Breitenbush Hot Springs in the foothills of Oregon's Cascade Mountains is...FULL. In fact, it's bursting at the seams. It used to be that retreats took months to fill up. Now we send the letter out and three weeks later we're turning people away. That's because these retreats are wonderful and create fantastic breakthroughs for those who attend. they really allow people to feel what it's like to be loved and to have an experience of oneness with others. Our next retreat will be at Glen Ivy Hot Springs, and if you sign up now you won't be left out. The dates are March 3-11, 2002. I don't know how this happens, but every retreat seems to be better than the last. If you want 6 months of growth in 5 short days, be at the next one! Sign up for our Summer Retreat, but only if you want a dramatic transformation in your life. Click here for more information: http://www.centerpointe.com/retreats/brbush.cfm Or, call us between 9:30 and 5:00 Pacific time, M-F, at 1-800-945-2741 or 503-672-7117. 2. Welcome to all new Mind Chatter subscribers and new participants sent to us by my good friend Jack Canfield, author of the Chicken Soup for the Soul books, from Bob Scheinfeld's Invisible Path, and from Paul Sheele and Pete Bissonette's Learning Strategies Corporation. You will be so glad you joined this program! Please send your comments, questions, and suggestions about Mind Chatter to me at mindchatter@centerpointe.com. Also be sure to visit our Discussion Forum on the web site to meet other people in the program, ask questions, discuss all and every personal growth topic, or just to eavesdrop. http://centerpointediscussion.adhost.com/ 3. NOW UP AND RUNNING!! A "Participant's Only" section of the Centerpointe web site where you can: Order deeper levels, headphones, and other products on-line Just go to http://www.centerpointe.com and click on "Participants". (You CANNOT log on to this section with your Discussion Forum log-on -- just follow the instructions after clicking on "Participants.") 1. From centerpointe.com...click on participants 2. Click on "Participant's Only" Registration... link 3. Enter (your current) THIS Email address. 4. Click on Search 5. Verify info and click "next" 6. Select and Fill in your alias, password and hint 7. Verify info and click "next" 8. Go back to the Log-in page 9. Log-in with the email and the password you just created And that's all there is to it!!!! Still to come to the Participants Only section: * Find the answers to most questions about your account with us ("What credit card did I use when I ordered? Did you get my affirmation tape? When will my Awakening Level 3 be recorded? When was it shipped? How can I track it? How many payments do I have left? etc. etc. etc") * More articles about personal growth, Holosync, etc. * Other surprises! We'll let you know when more of this section is ready! *** Archives of previous editions of Mind Chatter Monthly can be found at: http://www.centerpointe.com/news/archives/ ******* UNSUBSCRIBE DIRECTIONS: To unsubscribe click on the link below: OR: send an e-mail FROM the address you want unsubscribed TO: MIND-CHATTER-SIGNOFF-REQUEST@news.centerpointe.com