Welcome to Issue #97 (September 1, 2002) of MIND CHATTER, the twice-monthly
e-mail newsletter of Centerpointe Research Institute:

http://www.centerpointe.com

Do you want to Unsubscribe?? Gasp!! Please don't! (Directions are at the end of
the newsletter!)

In This Issue:

* MindQuotes

* Picture This: More on How Your Internal Map of Reality Creates Your Life by
Bill Harris, Director

* Glowing Testimonial of the Month

*Taming Your Gremlin: A Guide to Enjoying Yourself By Richard D. Carson Book
Review by Marc Gilson

* 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. After
all, it's my company and my newsletter, and I can do whatever I want with it. So
there.


You'll find MIND CHATTER in your e-mail box once every two weeks.


Free on-line demo:

If you aren't in the program now and would like to hear a sample, please listen
to our on-line HolosyncÆ demo: http://www.centerpointe.com/demo/index.cfm


Finally, if you aren't in the program already -- PLEASE JOIN! (What are you
waiting for??)

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

People who laugh actually live longer than those who don't laugh. Few persons
realize that health actually varies according to the amount of laughter. - James
J. Walsh

How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate
with the aged, sympathetic with the striving, and tolerant of the weak and
strong. Because someday in your life you will have been all of these. - George
Washington Carver

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do
than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe
harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. - Mark
Twain

Ideals are like stars; you will not succeed in touching them with your hands, but
like the seafaring man on the desert of waters, you choose them as your guides,
and following them, you reach your destiny. - Carl Schurz

Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and
leave a trail. - Ralph Waldo Emerson

***

First Ever Audio CD Interview with Ken Wilber!

At Centerpointe our purpose is to develop and make available the world's most
sophisticated and state-of-the-art tools for nurturing your personal and
spiritual awakening, and thereby nurture the evolution of our planet as a whole.
Sometimes I find tools and resources that were not created by Centerpointe, and
as a service to you, I want you to know about them.

Recently I came across a new way of accessing one of the greatest minds on the
planet, the philosopher Ken Wilber, also known as the "Einstein of
Consciousness."

Wilber, first published at age 23, has some 20 books in print -- including A
Brief History of Everything, The Atman Project, A Theory of Everything, Grace &
Grit, The Spectrum of Consciousness, Boomeritis, and so on. He is probably the
most widely published and translated philosopher alive today. His specialty is
the integration of Eastern spiritual thought, Western developmental psychology,
and the scientific method. Almost everyone who reads him is impressed by the
magnitude of his system, and his focus on bringing together and synthesizing what
is right -- that is, the truest and most correct elements of thought -- from a
wider variety of thinkers than anyone else has ever managed.

While I recommend Ken Wilber's books, the fact is that they can be pretty heady,
and not everyone enjoys reading philosophy. What I've recently come across is
another way to access Ken Wilber's thinking, and that is Enlightenment.Com's 2 CD
audio interview with Wilber, entitled "Speaking of Everything, "available at
http://www.enlightenment.com/shop/wilber.html.

Wilber himself is somewhat of a recluse, and has never given large pubic lectures
or allowed himself to be recorded for public release. "Speaking of Everything,"
then, is the first-ever audio interview with Wilber, that is, it is the first
time that almost any of his hundreds of thousands of fans have had access to his
thoughts and ideas as conveyed directly by his own voice.

The Interview, which consists of 2 CDs and a beautiful illustrated Glossary
pamphlet, covers a wide variety of ground. It includes  Wilber's prescription for
unraveling the mysteries of life, death, and pain (meditate!), a general summary
of the Eastern notion that there are three major states of consciousness (waking,
dreaming, and deep dreamless sleep) which all of us pass through every day of our
lives (and which have some interesting parallels to the beta, alpha, theta, and
delta states that we are already familiar with from Centerpointe's technology),
the difference between altered states of consciousness and advanced stages of
consciousness, as well as some personal information about Ken Wilber's own
Integral institute and what it is like to be Ken Wilber.

Interestingly, the interview was recorded with a high degree of stereo
separation, making it ideal to listen to in a car, with Ken Wilber coming out of
the left speaker and the interviewer, Enlightenment.com's CEO Jordan Gruber,
coming out of the left. Many people who have read Ken Wilber's books have said,
after listening to the interview, that they have gained an entire new dimension
of understanding from hearing this great philosopher speak with his own voice. As
we know, subtle information of all types can be communicated through sound and
the voice; by hearing someone who has such great understanding speak that
understanding, it may be possible to more quickly bring about that understanding
in oneself.

In short, for those who are interested in philosophy, spirituality, and science,
I would heartily recommend Ken Wilber's Speaking of Everything. The 2-CD set is
$24.95 plus shipping and handling. Click on this link for more information or to
order: http://www.enlightenment.com/shop/wilber.html

Bill Harris, Director

PS: This is NOT a Centerpointe product, and we receive no payment for
recommending this. Please address all questions to enlightenment.com about the
Ken Wilber interview.

****

Gay Hendricks would like to thank the several hundred readers of Mind Chatter who
signed up for his Magic Key on-line weight loss program as a result of my
suggestion in the last two issues.

For those who missed my recommendation, see the last issue of Mind Chatter or
click here for more information: http:/www.magic-key.com/26543. I highly
recommend this to anyone with weight or body issues.

****

If you like movies, here's something else you might be interested in -- and, it's
FREE!

My good friend Stephen Simon, producer of many films including "What Dreams May
Come" (starring Robin Williams and Cuba Gooding) and "Somewhere in Time"
(starring Christopher Reeves and Jane Seymour), has recently written a book
called The Force Is With You: Mystical Movie Messages That Inspire Our Lives.
(Walsch Books/Hampton Roads, available in bookstores in October 2002). As an
outgrowth of this book, Stephen wants to give something I think is really cool to
everyone who reads Mind Chatter.

Stephen has graciously agreed to send you three separate and very interesting
emails discussing movies that explore the very notion of reality -- what is real
and what is not. There is no charge for this.

In the sixties, the mantra was to "question authority". Today, it seems to be
"question reality." Stephen plans to discuss films such as The Matrix, A
Beautiful Mind, and Waking Life. If you would like to receive these emails,
please click here
<http://www.mysticalmovies.com/cp.html>www.mysticalmovies.com/cp.html and Stephen
will send them to you. Besides enjoying his insights on these three movies, I
know you'll also enjoy Stephen's website, MysticalMovies.com.


****

Holosync Research Study completed!

In late 2001, I was approached by a graduate student in Australia, Debra Slocum,
with a request to use Holosync in a study she was conducting on the effectiveness
of different treatments for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS). I gladly gave my
permission and supplied her with soundtracks for the research subjects to use.

Recently, Debra contacted me again to say the study has been completed, with very
positive results for Holosync (it was the most effective treatment in the study!)
-- this even though the study lasted only a few weeks (my humble opinion is that
had the study been over several month, the results would have been even more
positive).

Here are excerpts from the letter she sent to me along with the actual research
study. As she explains in the letter, I cannot yet share the actual study with
you, but I'm sure within a month or two it will be available.

Dear Bill

Last year I wrote to you requesting permission to use 'The Dive' as an
intervention for people with CFS for my research thesis and you very kindly sent
me some tapes. The study is now completed and I would like, first, to let you
know the results of this study, and second, to genuinely thank you for the
interest and assistance you provided.

The results indicated that 'The Dive' did significantly reduce perceived stress,
and symptom severity (emotional distress, cognitive difficulty, fatigue and
somatic symptoms), and while both the autogenic-breathing relaxation condition
[another treatment method used in the study] and the neuro-audio condition [i.e.,
Holosync] evidenced improvement, it was the neuro-audio tape [Holosync] that
showed greater overall improvement. [The "traditional" approach to treating CFS,
by the way, showed little or no effectiveness.]

Further, while 'significance levels' were not evidenced for coping-effort
behavior  (focusing on symptoms, accommodation, information seeking and
maintaining activity) the reported ratings from pre-intervention to
post-intervention showed positive mean-change.

I have rewritten my thesis into journal-article to submit for publication (with
the 'help' of my supervisor). It is now finished. I have attached this article
with this email, so you can see the results in more detail. Unfortunately, any
research findings remain the property of the university who conducted the study.
Therefore, you cannot publish the contents of the article I have emailed to
you--at least, not just yet. If the article is published, the copyright transfers
to the journal publishers, and you can then cite both the information and the
journal. Hopefully, this will be approx. 4-6 weeks from now.

I have cited Centerpointe in this article, to indicate that these results were
obtained using your binaural-tape (and not some inferior product). This also
ensures that Centerpointe receives appropriate accreditation, and infers that if
these results are to be replicated in further research, or these tapes are to be
used in a clinical population (such as with chronic fatigue sufferers) it is your
tape that has been tested.... and that has demonstrated positive change in an
experimental setting.

[In this next part Debra describes a disagreement with her advisor, who
apparently did not want to include in the journal article some results that were
positive for Holosync, but did not fit his pre-conceived idea of what was
possible.]

This next part is difficult for me to write, and I will attempt to be diplomatic,
however, I am sure that you will be able to read between the lines.

I supported all the research findings and interpretations in the study with
current research, not only in psychology, but also in the areas of endocrinology,
immunology and neurology. I proposed that binaural-tapes are effective because
they fundamentally modify neurotransmitter bidirectional communication, thereby
interrupting the established psychophysiological habitual responding (which often
manifests as intensified somatic symptoms and emotional distress (for chronic
fatigue syndrome): thus, the stress-mood-immune function triad is directly
targeted.

This work was deleted from my thesis, and the findings were attributed to
probable expectancy effects. However, there were no differences in expectations
between the conditions prior to intervention. Therefore, expectancy cannot
account for the significant change experienced by the neuro-audio condition
[Holosync]. Nevertheless, if this study is published, the results will speak for
themselves, because it will be obvious to any reader that the neuro-audio group
[those who used Holosync] consistently reported greater change, and significant
improvement (so, let the results speak for themselves!).

As I am not one to sit idle for very long, I am now writing a book on chronic
fatigue syndrome that will outline current research and treatment for this
condition. I would like (with your permission) to dedicate a chapter of this book
to neuro-audio technology - specifically to the use of Centerpointe
binaural-tapes, as a viable treatment option - as irrefutably demonstrated by the
results of my study.

Yours sincerely and with genuine thanks, Debra Slocum

****

Picture This: More on How Your Internal Map of Reality Creates Your Life by Bill
Harris, Director

Over the last several months I've been describing the inner workings of what I
call your internal map of reality, because I want you to understand that making
this internal map conscious -- rather than just letting it run on automatic -- is
the way to introduce choice into your life. Once you can choose, you can choose
happiness and inner peace (unless you're some sort of a masochist). When this map
and its workings are conscious, you can clearly see how you create your
experience of life, including your thoughts, your feelings, and your results.
Once you see how you create your life, it becomes impossible to create results
that do not serve you.

When you hear about spiritually advanced people being in moment-to-moment bliss
and happiness, one of the reasons they are having this experience is that they
are conscious of their own map of reality and can therefore direct the creation
of their life.

There is a second level to being conscious of this map, about which I will not go
into detail here, but which deserves mention. Once you see how all of these
usually unconscious processes function, in addition to gaining control over them,
you also realize -- at a very deep experiential level -- that you are not these
processes. You discover that you are something much deeper and more profound. You
realize that you are not your feelings, you are not your thoughts, you are not
your body, you are not the various cognitive processes that make up your map of
reality, and you are not even the feeling or sensation of "I."

If you're not these things, then who are you? A darned good question, and I'm
impressed that you asked it. You're going to have to discover who you really are
for yourself, because it's beyond anything conceptual or cognitive, but here's a
clue" you're the nothingness out of which all these things arise. That you are
not these parts of your internal map of reality is the deeper meaning of "the map
is not the territory," another of the Nine Principles I have been teaching you.

Once you have this realization -- not intellectually, though it may start there,
but experientially -- you are really free, and nothing can shake you from your
happiness and inner peace. Different traditions have different names for this,
but some of them include liberation, enlightenment, awakening, nirvana, and
self-actualization. We'll visit this subject again in upcoming articles.

I tell you this because I want to motivate you to do the work required to make
this map conscious, because it is well worth the trouble (and besides, it is very
joyful work).

Okay, onward. Today I want to examine in more detail a very significant part of
this internal map of reality, the subject of representational modalities and sub
modalities, and how they affect your experience of yourself and the world.

I know this may sound complicated, so let me explain.

I have mentioned in previous articles that when we receive some sort of sensory
input (i.e., we see something, hear something, smell something, feel something,
taste something, or have internal dialog about something), this input passes
through a series of mental filters that then delete, distort, and generalize the
input. These filters include the language we speak, our concept of time and
space, our values, our beliefs, our decisions, our metaprograms (such as whether
or not we move toward what we want or away from what we don't want, or see
sameness or difference when we look at things, or sort information by possibility
or necessity, and so on -- what could be termed non-content filters or filters
about process rather than about content), and a number of others.

I have described many of these filters in more detail in past articles, and will
elaborate in more detail in future articles.

Once we have deleted, distorted, and generalized the input coming at us, we make
an internal representation of the results of this filtering process. This
internal representation can be a picture (a visual internal representation), a
sound (an auditory internal representation), a feeling or sensation of touch,
temperature, or pressure (kinesthetic), a taste (gustatory), a smell (olfactory),
or some sort of internal dialog (auditory digital, a kind of variation on
auditory). These different ways of internally representing something to ourselves
are called modalities.

Internal representations are very interesting. Before we go into them in more
detail and investigate the role they play in creating your experience of life, I
want to make a few general observations. First, internal representations are our
interface with the rest of the universe. They are how we experience what we think
of as "reality." We do not experience reality directly (at least not until we
become fully conscious), but rather we experience our representation of reality,
and then (mistakenly) think it is reality.

Second, I want you to you to keep in mind that internal representations are, like
everything else about your internal map of reality, happening -- for most people
-- outside of conscious awareness and conscious control. As such, they often
create results for you do not want.

Third, I want you to be aware of the fact that when you want to make a change in
something in your life, it is usually either your state (how you feel) or
something about your behavior (motivating yourself, for instance, or stopping a
behavior you don't like) that you want to change. You accomplish these changes in
one of two ways (whether you know it or not): either by changing something about
your physiology (the subject of an article to come later) or by changing your
internal representations. This gives internal representations great power over
your experience of life (and might be a good reason to make them conscious and
learn how to consciously direct them).

If you decide to change something about your internal representations in order to
change something in your life, there are two things you could change: 1) WHAT you
represent to yourself (i.e., the content of what you represent, such as thinking
about a goal you have rather than about something you are afraid of; or deciding
to do one thing instead of another), or 2) HOW you represent it (in other words,
the details of how you create the internal representation).

To understand the choices you have when you change how you represent something to
yourself, you need to understand that each of the modalities I mentioned above
(visual, auditory, auditory digital, kinesthetic, olfactory, and gustatory), can
be broken down into various sub modalities. These are the details of how we
create a certain internal representation. Depending on a person's individual map
of reality, different sub modalities will affect different people in different
ways, and discovering the different ways we represent things to ourselves and how
they affect us gives us a very powerful tool to use in taking control over our
state and our behavior.

To demonstrate sub modalities and the powerful effect they have on both state and
behavior, I want you to do a little mental process with me. You might want to
have someone else read these instructions to you so you don't have to keep
opening your eyes and referring back to them, or you can just read and learn them
and then stop and do the exercise by yourself.

Think of a very pleasant memory. Close your eyes, relax, and think of it. Let
yourself make an internal image that represents that memory. Now take the image
you see in your mind's eye and make it brighter. Notice, as you do this, how your
state changes.

Next, bring the picture closer and notice any state changes. Play with close,
very close, and far away and see what happens to your state as you do so.

Then try making the picture bigger and smaller and see what happens. Then, when
you are finished, open your eyes.

These things -- brightness, location, and size of the picture -- are examples of
visual sub modalities, and you can see that changing them does indeed change the
way you feel about this pleasant memory. Some changes increase the pleasure, and
some diminish it. Some may even make it feel negative.

Now close your eyes again and tune into the sounds you hear internally that go
along with this picture. Raise and lower the volume and see what happens. Give
the sounds more rhythm, change the tone, change the location from which they
originate (in other words, if the sounds are coming from in front of you, see
what happens when you move the location to the side, or make it come from
overhead or behind you).

Now focus on the kinesthetic sub modalities. Make the memory warmer and softer.
Make it smoother. What happens to your feelings when you do this?

Now think of a negative situation, something that upset you and caused you pain,
and let your mind create an image representing it (believe me, you already have
one stored away in the mental vault). Take the image and find out how making it
brighter or dimmer changes your state. Do the same with making it bigger or
smaller. Play with the focus. What happens?

Then, hear your internal voice, or whatever sounds there are, in a loud, staccato
tone. Feel the experience as hard and firm. Then let it soften. What happens? Now
take the negative image and make it smaller, then de-focus it and make it dimmer.
Now move it farther away, so you can hardly see it. Move it behind you, far away.
Then, reduce the volume of the sounds you hear. Take away their rhythm. Finally,
make the image feel sort of wispy and insubstantial.

As you can see, these changes have a definite effect on how you feel. Why?
Because sub modalities are the way you catalog and store all kinds of
distinctions between things you like or don't like, things that feel good or
don't feel good, things you believe or don't believe, and many other
distinctions. You recognize and keep track of all the ways you distinguish
between any one thing and something else, or how things are the same, by storing
them in your mental files, and you do this by assigning certain sub modalities to
each category based on the distinctions you want to make.

If you make an internal picture of something you believe, for instance, the
picture you use to represent it will have a certain brightness, be in a certain
location in your visual field (i.e., right in front of you, over to the left,
slightly above the visual mid-line, or whatever), be a certain distance away, and
have a certain amount of clarity and focus. It might also be panoramic or have a
frame around it. It might be large or small, color or black and white, a still
picture or a movie -- and so on. There are many more possibilities, but these are
generally the most important visual sub modalities (often called drivers).

For most people, all the pictures that represent things you believe (even if
these things are unrelated in other ways) will have the same or very similar sub
modalities. Those things you do not believe will have other very different sub
modalites. You can verify this by making a few internal pictures of some things
you believe, and a few of things you don't believe and noticing the sub
modalities of the pictures. Though this process generally happens outside your
awareness, this is the way you keep track of what you believe and what you don't
believe (most people have another category, too: what you used to, but no longer,
believe). This is your mental filing system!

(Just as an aside, geniuses have very sophisticated filing systems, and have the
ability to make very fine distinctions that non-geniuses may not be able to make.
Someone like Beethoven was aware of auditory distinctions you or I would have a
lot of trouble making and keeping track of, for instance. Nicholas Tesla,
discoverer of alternating current and a lot of other things, could create a
machine in his mind, start it running, and check back in a few weeks to see which
parts didn't work right or were wearing out -- a process of making very fine
visual distinctions.)

But I digress. The really interesting thing about using sub modalities to create
change is that if you make a picture of something you don't believe (such as "I
can be happy all the time" or "I can be rich"), and change the sub modalities of
the picture your mind generates so they match those of something you DO believe,
you will begin to feel like you believe it, and  begin to act accordingly.

Or, you could take something you are very motivated about, discover what the sub
modalities you use to represent motivation, then pick something you want to be
motivated about (but aren't), and then change the non-motivated picture so it now
has the sub modalities you use for motivation. This causes the thing you were not
motivated about to be stored with those things you are motivated about, and as a
result you begin to feel motivated by it (there is another piece here that we
don't have time to deal with, which is how you keep the picture from changing
back, which is what will happen if you have some strong, underlying, secondary
reason for staying unmotivated).

We've been talking here about visual sub modalities mostly, but the same can be
done with auditory, kinesthetic, and other modalities. Sometimes at retreats I
ask if anyone has a voice in their head telling them they are not okay, or can't
succeed at something. Generally this voice, when experienced, has a powerful
effect on the person's state and ability to act. When we change the sub
modalities to something very different, the emotional charge, and it's ability to
affect their state and their behavior, goes away. When we change the internal
voice of someone's mother telling them they'll never succeed by moving it 100
yards behind them, lowering the volume, and then changing it from Mom's voice to
Goofy's voice, or to a very sexy voice (or whatever), it to lose all its power.

Every distinction you make -- whether it' keeping track of what you believe, what
motivates you, what you like, what you don't like, what is funny or not funny,
what turns you or repels you, or thousands of other distinctions -- is stored
inside your brain and categorized using sub modalities. As you can see, by
changing the sub modalities of your internal representations, you can change
beliefs, values, and many aspects of how you see yourself, the world, and your
relationship to it.

To exercise control over this powerful aspect of your internal map of reality,
though, you have to spend some time playing with your brain and discovering how
you, personally, make these distinctions for yourself. So spend some time playing
with this. Discover how you represent things you believe or don't believe, things
that motivate you and things that don't, things you like or don't like, things
you think you can do and things you don't think you can do, things you are afraid
of and things you aren't afraid of, and so on. Instead of letting all of these
distinctions -- and the way they affect your state and your behavior -- happen
unconsciously, outside your control and without your conscious choice, find out
how you create them and begin to take control of the process and make choices
that give you the results you really want.

Be sure to keep using those Holosync soundtracks, because this whole process of
discovering and taking control of how you create your reality is a very easy
process when you meditate daily with Holosync. Why? Because Holosync dramatically
enhances your ability to take the perspective of the watcher in noticing how your
internal map of reality works, and once you are able to do that, you
automatically begin to create what serves you and toss out what creates suffering
in your life. Since you have the ability to make this process easier, you might
as well take advantage of it.

As always, be well.

Bill Harris, Director

PS: I you found this article, or anything else in Mind Chatter useful, send it on
to a friend or two.


****

Glowing Testimonial of the Month


I have just received my 16 week graduation letter for completing the prologue,
and once again I am motivated to write. I just want you, Bill Harris, to know
that my life has greatly changed in the 4 months that I have been listening,
faithfully to the meditation tapes. I have come to believe in the power of
meditation and, in particular, your powerful sound techniques that allow a novice
like myself to meditate like a guru.

Everything in your letter confirmed what I now feel. I no longer feel leaps of
change from listening to the tapes but, like a runner who needs that daily run,
they have become like my daily dose of peace. As important to me as brushing my
teeth and eating well. Yes, I am operating at a higher wave amplitude and a lower
frequency. I relate to my friends and family differently. I wake up joyfully. My
whole life experience is different. And since my vibration frequency is lower,
there are some who continue in their high frequency negativity, no longer choose
to be around me. No, all my problems have not gone away, but I feel so able to
cope. I have begun the process of moving to the next level, level 1. I think you
have in me a lifetime fan. However, writing affirmations is not coming easily
because I know whatever I affirm, with the help of your tools, will drive and
motivate my subconscious. I have to really decide what I want to create in my
life. What joy!

My sister, who I wrote about before, is finally beginning to see the affects of
your tapes while doing meditation. She is feeling happier and although back in
law school is committed to doing her daily hour and continuing the program. She
is amazed (as I was) at how life, people, the earth, yourself look and feel so
different. Again, just thanks for sharing your knowledge and bringing something
like these tools to people who so much need to see the light within themselves.

Robyn M.

**

Regarding my article about taking responsibility:

Hi Bill,

Thinking about the 5th principle [The 5th principle of my Nine Principles (which
you can read about in Mind Chatter Archives on the Centerpointe web site), The
Principle of Responsibility as Empowerment] and the blame game.  I understand why
this is so difficult....especially for people who have been abused as children. 
It was so hideous for them and they have serious problems "letting it be okay."
For the rest of us, we have received emotional abuse at times and even as adults
we find it difficult not to blame the abuser, especially if promises were made
and you honored your end of the bargain. But, you are correct. Can you DO
anything about the problem? If not, how can you LET GO and get on with your life.
Shit happens. With that vivid thought in mind, please see what one of the members
of Positive Discussions@yahoo groups wrote addressing this very problem:

I am very glad for you that you chose not to trade crap with your family.  Now
that's a subject I know a lot about!

I'm still growing at this--after 45 years--but I am finding it better to let the
crap lay there & not pick it up. (I hope that translates well for our non-English
speaking members.) A very positive choice!

I think it was Wayne Dyer who says "It's not what gets handed to you, it's
whether you choose to hold it" or words to that effect. Let the crap fall where
it may--the crappee (or crap giver) won't get the response he or she is looking
for, and you come out looking like a rose.

Somehow, when you visualize a meadow muffin being handed to you, and you ask
yourself how long you want to hold it???????  That aptly explains NOT holding on
to the problem and finding ways to blame. I am the moderator of Positive
Discussions at Yahoo Groups and often send your excellent principles to our group
for discussion.  Hopefully, some of them are Holosyncing now.

All the best, Nan  (from Glen Ivy retreat)

**

Because we are often asked for testimonials from people who have been in the
program a long time, I have asked a couple of such people to write something for
you. Here is the first, with more to come in subsequent issues:

Dear Bill,

In answer to your query about how the Centerpointe program has affected me, my
life, etc., the best summation is:  the program is driving me out of my mind!

As I've grown older and "wiser," the writings and teachings of others and the
technology your program has provided have helped me realize what slaves we can
become to our minds. I think many people with "problems" have identified with
their minds to the point where they think they are their mind. The mind is a
tool, that's all. So instead of thinking we are the hammer driving in the nail,
it's time to realize the hammer is something we use and not really what we are.
Realizing and allowing such a profound change from the "normal" orientation isn't
easy. Culturally, there's such an emphasis on the mind, on being smart, on
achieving, and all the rest of it.

I've had "glimpses" of being out of my mind, but, even though profound, they have
been fleeting. And I confess that in one particular "opening" I was afraid to
"let go" my mind--it's a "familiar" anchor/jailer even though not the essence of
what I am.

So, it's a process. And I have begun to appreciate that this life experience is
an opportunity to realize what I am not. I also am beginning to appreciate the
difference between finite mind/intellect and an infinite intelligence underlying
everything. That difference allows one to either experience himself as "separate"
from the whole or "realize" himself in everything.

I am about to start the final level of Flowering [the 10th level of the program].
In the past I've packed all sorts of affirmations for health, security, safety,
self-image, healing, achievement, success, etc. using your sample affirmations.
But for this last level, I have selected the affirmations from the
mystical-spiritual-eastern philosophy. That switch is the "proof" of your
program.

Many thanks to you and your staff. Although I'm nearing "the end," it's really
just "the beginning." I will continue to look forward to Centerpointe's twice a
month e-mail newsletter. Your articles often provide "keys" that allow me to
discover and unlock pieces of the "puzzle.

Mindlessly yours,

David Ogden

**

Shameless self-promotion:

As I put together this edition of Mind Chatter, my new book Thresholds of the
Mind, is being sent to the printer. Though I will be in Australia for almost the
entire month of September, therefore will not be in Oregon when it comes back,
the book should be at Centerpointe on about September 20th.

As you may know (because I told you), the book has been receiving rave reviews
beyond my wildest dreams, and I hope you will all read it.

More later.

****

Taming Your Gremlin: A Guide to Enjoying Yourself By Richard D. Carson Book
Review by Marc Gilson


***If you would like to read more about or order this book click here:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0060961023/centerpointer-20

If you're suffering a little burn-out from the myriad of heady, weighty, cerebral
self-help books crammed onto nearly every bookshelf in your local bookstore,
here's welcome relief. I first read Taming Your Gremlin about 12 years ago.
Having re-read it recently I was surprised to note just how much of Richard
Carson's amusing little book had stayed with me since my initial reading. This is
truly a gem of a book, and one that is proving itself as something of a "cult
classic" among personal growth enthusiasts.

"There is a gremlin within you. He is the narrator in your head."

At first glance, Taming Your Gremlin looks a little more like a children's fairy
tale book than something belonging in a serious library. But through Carson's
imaginative portrayal of that internal, resistance-based self-talk as a
bothersome gremlin, we're gifted with a creative way of freeing ourselves to live
fuller, happier lives. Presented in simple, almost storybook-like language,
Carson serves as a gentle and friendly guide to how to recognize and tame those
inner gremlins. But while lightly fanciful in style, the core truths of Carson's
message are potent and solid.

"You already have some sense of your gremlin though you may have never focused
your awareness on him or labeled him. Your gremlin is the narrator in your head.
He has influenced you since you came into this world and he accompanies you
throughout this entire existence. He is with you when you wake up in the morning
and when you go to sleep at night. He tells you who and how you are, and he
defines and interprets your every experience. He wants you to accept his
interpretations as reality, and his goal from moment to moment, day to day, is to
squelch the real vibrant you within. I am not sure of the factors that
contributed to the make-up of your particular gremlin. I am sure, however, that
he was created, at least in part, by your past experience."

This is the first of many points in which you Centerpointe Participants may
notice similarities between Carson's concepts and those presented in the
Centerpointe support materials. In the excerpt above, Carson is identifying the
gremlin as a kind of manifestation of what we at Centerpointe call the "map."
(Remember "The Map is Not the Territory" Principle?) or, perhaps, more of a "map
reader." The gremlin is that internal voice that warns you to travel according to
that supposedly safe and well-designed map we have inherited from our upbringing.
But while the map-reading gremlin would seem to be doing us a favor, his real
role is often to hold us back and keep us from growing.

So what do we do about these gremlins? Set traps? Find a stick and hunt them
down? Poison their gremlin grub? No, says Carson. Instead, simply notice them:

"The 'simply' in 'simply noticing' cannot be overstated. Simply noticing has
nothing to do with analyzing, understanding, predicting the future, or undoing
the past. Simply noticing involves only simply noticing."

Again, for those of you familiar with Centerpointe lingo, simply noticing is
nothing other than what Centerpointe Director Bill Harris calls Witnessing.
Gremlins hate being noticed. While we're noticing them, they can't get away with
their shenanigans. (Likewise, Witnessing is a method designed to bring you into
conscious awareness of your actions and reactions.)

At first, this notion of our inner narrator as a gremlin -- a kind of being who
acts without our best interests in mind -- may feel a little uncomfortable. But
as Carson explains how our gremlins influence us, it's easier for us to imagine a
troublesome little gremlin scheming to keep us living in fear, stuck in the same
patterns of thinking and acting, and feeling ill at ease with our lives. After
all, that's often how it feels when we encounter our own internal resistance. The
gremlin metaphor works well, and brings into focus the kind of transformations
possible when we can become aware of just how those gremlins have managed to
affect us.

Carson gives brief case profiles from his psychotherapy practice in which his
clients have managed to identify and even name their own particular gremlins.
Here's an example:

"Peter is a pediatrician, and is recognized by his peers as an exceptionally good
one. He calls his gremlin 'The Hulk." The Hulk is between 8 and 9 feet tall,
weighs between 500 and 600 pounds and has an amorphous presence, which Peter is
unable to see clearlyŠFor years when Peter felt even the slightest degree of
anger, The Hulk leapt out of the shadows and with his powerful right arm grabbed
Peter by his collar and warned him to 'sit down and shut up.' He feared The Hulk
so much that he almost never allowed himself to show anger. On the outside, Peter
appeared a nice, gentle sort of fellow. On the inside, he was tense and
miserable."

Carson also lists a number of Gremlin Myths, including:

Your true self is unlovable.

You can only enjoy yourself for short periods of time.

Fast is good, slow is bad.

Worry has value.


To solidify these myths, gremlins use Gremlin Strategies. There is the "You Need"
Strategy, the "You Don't Deserve" Strategy, and the ever-popular "They Have to
Change in Order for Me to Feel Better" Strategy.

Throughout the rest of the book, Carson points the way to eradicating these kinds
of gremlin myths and strategies through learning to guide awareness, being
grounded, and as mentioned before, simply noticing. Included are a number of
simple but effective exercises designed to make you a successful gremlin tamer.

In a sense, Taming Your Gremlin is a book about demystifying the often
intimidating process of change. Carson does a terrific job of introducing the
reader to his or her own gremlin without triggering the fear that often compels
people to recoil from the prospect of change.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Its simple, honest, and entertaining style is
makes for a pleasurable and worthwhile reading experience.


***If you would like to read more about or order this book click here:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0060961023/centerpointer-20

****

Important Announcements (and I do mean important):

1. It's now too late to come with us to Australia for one of two retreats in
September, because both are full, and there is even a waiting list.

You can, however, sign up for the next US retreat in March of 2003 at Glen Ivy
Hot Springs and Spa in Corona California, or for the next Breitenbush Hot Springs
retreat in July of 2003 in Oregon.

We filled the latest Breitenbush Retreat without even sending out a promotional
letter, so if you have a big issue you'd like to eliminate, or just want to take
your growth to the next level, don't wait-call Centerpointe and sign up today,
even though March of 2003 or July of 2003 might seem to be a long way off.

We advertise that you'll get six months of growth in 5 days at these retreats.
One person, this time, told me she received six YEARS!

And, we offer a full money back guarantee if at the end of the retreat you don't
think it was as advertised-and more.

Click here for more information: http://www.centerpointe.com/retreats/

You do not need to be a program participant to attend (though most people who
attend are). (And if you're not a program participant, why the heck aren't you?
Quit procrastinating and join.)

Here's why, even if you've been to a retreat before and thought about coming to
another...

...or have toyed with the idea of attending one for the first time...

...NOW is the time to attend one: I've significantly changed the material
presented at the retreats to include and focus on the 9 Principles I've been
writing about in Mind Chatter over the last few months. A major goal of the
retreat is for you to leave with a concrete plan for learning to live these
principles. I believe these principles are the key to living a life free from
suffering and filled with peace and happiness. Mastering them will change your
life forever.

If you want 6 months of growth in just a few short days, or a breakthrough in
that big issue you've had trouble cracking on your own, please be there!

These retreats now fill up without my advertising them other than these messages
in Mind Chatter, so call now and sign up early to make sure you have a spot.

Click here for more information: http://www.centerpointe.com/retreats/

Or, call us between 9:30 and 5:00 Pacific time, M-F, at 1-800-945-2741 or
503-672-7117.

2. A reminder that Dr. Beverlee Taub, Ph.D therapist, facilitator and life coach, is available to help you maximize your opportunities and overcome your obstacles.  She has an international telephone coaching clientele and supports those who wish to combine an in-depth inquiry with their use of the Holosync technology.  Even though Dr. Taub has her own independent practice and is not a part of Centerpointe, she has utilized and recommended the Centerpointe program since its development in the late 1980's.  She has been a consultant, coach, and friend to Bill Harris for over 17 years.

Dr. Taub is a key facilitator at Centerpointe retreats, leading attendees in what she calls "transformational games," as well as meeting privately with those who desire more in depth work.

Telephone appointments with Dr. Taub can be arranged by calling Dr. Taub directly at (503) 641-5408.

There is no charge for an initial consultation with Dr. Taub and fees for additional sessions may be negotiated directly with her.  Appointments are required.

4. 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
the various email newsletters of Daily Inbox.com, from Chet Day, from Bob
Scheinfeld's Invisible Path, from Tools for Wellness, from Paul Sheele and Pete
Bissonette's Learning Strategies Corporation, from Hale Dwoskin's Sedona Training
Associates, from Healthy.net, from Tarot.com (and from any other place that led
you to us). 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.

5. Visit the "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-there is a different log
on for this new section of the site. 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:

* A bulletin board where you can post your email address and city of residence if
you are willing to correspond with others in the program. * 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! (Like interactive ways to learn and live the 9 Principles I've
been writing about!)

We'll let you know when more of this section is ready!

6. Our Support Team is expanding! We're pleased to welcome three new members of
the Centerpointe Support Team: Heather Self, Lori Weatherwax, and Eric Robison.
Heather, Lori, and Eric are great additions to our already great team, and are
looking forward to providing the same outstanding service and support
Centerpointe is known for. ***

Archives of previous editions of Mind Chatter (good stuff) can be found at:
http://www.centerpointe.com/news/archives/
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
UNSUBSCRIBE DIRECTIONS: To unsubscribe click on the link below:
<mailto:MIND-CHATTER-SIGNOFF-REQUEST@news.centerpointe.com?subject=Off>

OR:  send an e-mail FROM the address you want unsubscribed TO:
MIND-CHATTER-SIGNOFF-REQUEST@news.centerpointe.com