From Lee Gerdes,
CEO and founder of Brain State Technologies

A man who has worked as a pharmacist all his life is anxious, cannot tolerate changes to his everyday schedule, is terrified of flying, and has to have his surroundings a certain way or he becomes enraged. The least thing out of place and he explodes. Consequently, everyone in his family tiptoes around him, hoping not to set him off.

Do you know people in your own life who are so stressed out that you have to handle them with kid gloves? My guess is most of us know at least one person like this, if not several—and many of us have no doubt experienced feeling this way ourselves, so that we too at times become like a coiled spring.

Naturally, the pharmacist I’m referring to had access to all the drugs that the pharmaceutical companies recommend for severe anxiety, feeling stressed out, or depression. But none of these solved his problem, at best mitigating it to some extent. Plus, there are huge risks with some of these medications, in some cases even including the acceleration of suicidal tendencies—as the labeling now points out.

When some vital element is lacking in your body chemistry, it makes sense to supply the missing ingredient, whether this is related to an inability to absorb sufficient calcium or magnesium, or a lack of B12 perhaps as a result of following a vegan diet. In these cases, supplementation may be called for, as the medical profession increasingly recognizes.

However, in the case of excessive worry, ongoing anxiety, depression, suicidal tendencies, and post-traumatic stress disorder, most of the time it’s not a nutritional issue that’s the root of the problem—particularly if a person’s diet is fairly balanced, as is true of many of us in the western world.

The kind of anxiety the pharmacist I told you about had experienced for many years can’t be resolved by supplying a drug, since the cause isn’t a lack of that drug. All medication can do in such a situation is mask the symptoms, perhaps bringing a measure of relief—but at a price. In many cases medication flattens out the person’s ability to feel, so that they perhaps escape some of the lows, while also missing out on the true joy of life. A daily emotional numbness may be preferential to feeling like you are drowning in sadness or constantly exploding, but this is no real answer. It’s only a band aid.

Ultimately, the master regulator for all of the body’s systems—physical, mental, and emotional—is the brain. It’s this we need to harmonize if we are to function well as feeling, thinking, physical creatures. For when the brain is out of balance—when its hemispheres and lobes are locked into energy levels that are less than optimal—neither our chemistry nor our electrical circuits are able to promote a state of wellbeing.

It’s long been known that harmonized brainwaves affect how well we feel within ourselves, such as being at peace with ourselves instead of stressed, and that this in turn reverberates throughout all our organs, circulatory network, and chemistry, affecting such delicate system as the many hormones that regulate our health. This is why so many stress-reduction techniques have become popular, ranging from prayer and meditation to yoga, biofeedback, and neurofeedback. Though these can be helpful, they nevertheless have their own limitations—as I learned from personal experience.

When I was attacked by three youths with baseball bats in San Francisco while closing up after a church function one afternoon many years ago, the post-traumatic stress I experienced following this assault was so severe that I tried just about everything in an attempt to restore my formerly peaceful state. While some of the techniques helped somewhat,  nothing brought lasting change.

It was out of my persistent distress that I went deeply into how neurofeedback works, which in turn led me to a breakthrough development that didn’t require my personal effort in the way both biofeedback and neurofeedback do.

As a software specialist I realized we were entering an era when the power of the computer could at last be harnessed to restore balance and harmony to the brain. By reading the brain’s energy patterns noninvasively, it’s possible to mirror them back to the brain in such a way that it allows the brain to resonate or adjust its own energy levels to a balanced state.

So it was that Brainwave Optimization™ was born—and now clinical trials in university medical schools and other facilities are validating its efficacy.

If you are stressed, anxious, depressed, fearful, or even suicidal, returning your brain’s hemispheres and lobes to a balanced state is your way forward. Whatever additional modalities you may choose to utilize, a balanced and harmonized brain state is bedrock—as you’ll discover when you read my book Limitless You—The Infinite Possibilities of a Balanced Brain, available both in print form and as an ebook direct from Namaste Publishing, from Amazon.com, by order through bookstores, or through any of the 200 plus providers of Brainwave Optimization™ worldwide.

Brain State Technologies®, the developer behind the innovative neurotechnology Brainwave Optimization™, will open the doors of their corporate headquarters to the public on Wednesday, June 12, 2013 for a one-night-only open house event. Attendees will have a rare opportunity to tour the facilities, see live demonstrations of the technology, and hear brain health expert and Brain State Technologies Director of Research Dr. Sung Lee speak on the latest developments in the fields of neuroscience and brain research. Dr. Lee will also be on hand to answer questions.

As Brain State Technologies has grown from a two-man, father-son operation to a global leader in the field of neurotechnology over the past decade, the company increasingly sees research as a central component of their mission. Trained in internal medicine, mind-body health, and clinical research methods, Dr. Lee directs the company’s research arm, overseeing internal research, supporting clinical studies into Brainwave Optimization currently being conducted by an independent team at Wake Forest School of Medicine, and advising Brain State Technologies development teams as they continue to refine Brainwave Optimization. He is also a masterful educator and communicator with a skill for explaining complicated scientific concepts to non-scientists.

“We’re very lucky to have Dr. Lee on board,” says Brain State Technologies CIO Peter Gerdes. “His experience, his commitment to scientific rigor, and his passion for Brainwave Optimization make him an invaluable member of our team.”

Founded in 2000, Brain State Technologies has developed a unique approach to helping those who suffer from a wide variety of conditions. Their patented Brainwave Optimization with Real Time Balancing™ process stands on the cutting-edge of neuroscience and computer technology, providing a non-invasive and holistic method of restoring the brain’s natural balance and enhancing brain function.

“In the course of my career, I have provided and researched a range of health technologies and practices,” says Dr. Lee. “I believe that Brain State Technologies is developing and disseminating the premier technology for facilitating global human betterment.”

All are invited to attend this free event and learn more about Brainwave Optimization directly from those who are working with it most closely. Snacks and soft drinks will be provided as will guided tours, exclusive specials, and door-prizes. Brain State Technologies is located at 15150 N Hayden Rd, Scottsdale, AZ 85260. Doors will open at 5pm. To RSVP or for additional information call 480.588.6840 or visit www.BrainStateTech.com/RSVP.

From Lee Gerdes,
CEO and founder of Brain State Technologies

Do you ever get a woolly feeling in your head? It’s a feeling akin to two radio stations broadcasting on the same wavelength, so that there’s a sort of buzzing noise instead of the clear sound of talk or music. It can also be a feeling that something heavy is weighing your brain down. You may have noticed, as most people do, that the feeling of cobwebs in your head is accompanied by a general anxiousness and perhaps even a tension in your neck muscles.

We’ve all experienced a sense of fuzzy-headedness or brain fog, times when thoughts come more slowly and never quite fully into focus. When you think about it, it’s interesting that we are even able to recognize this condition as we are experiencing it. Sometimes this aspect of our makeup—the brain’s capacity to observe its own functioning—is referred to as the “watcher.” We stand simultaneously within ourselves and outside ourselves and observe ourselves. It’s easy to take this ability for granted, but it’s essential to our health and well-being.

When all is well with your body, you don’t even notice it. For instance, you don’t pay attention to your legs as you walk, your hands as you type, your arms as you hold someone. There’s just a flow of energy throughout the body that enables you to function in tiptop condition. Even still, your brain is constantly monitoring and regulating all functions of your body.

You have no doubt heard a lot about brain plasticity in recent years. Far from being a fixed entity, science has discovered that the brain is capable of rewiring itself, creating new neural pathways. This makes us enormously adaptable and resilient, but it has its downsides as well.

When you experience a trauma—major or minor, physical or emotional—your brain immediately adjusts its own activity to compensate and to cope. You may not even be consciously aware of the shift at first, but your brain is functioning differently. Though the brain functions best when brainwave activity is balanced between its two hemispheres, the ability of the brain to unbalance itself is essential to healthy brain function. Where it becomes a problem is when the brain cannot find its own way back into balance. Imbalanced brain activity has been associated with a wide variety of symptoms and conditions. In cases of extreme trauma, the brain may remain in a state of hyper-arousal as we often see with soldiers returning from combat. Even in cases of minor trauma, however, brain function may be impaired.

Your fuzzy thinking may simply be your brain trying to navigate the day with a kind of mental limp.

On the other hand, when the brain’s natural balance is restored, there is a knock-on effect that cascades to all the bodily systems, enabling them to function better. Body chemistry actually improves, as does the level of energy, alertness, and capacity for feeling and clear thinking. This is what Brainwave Optimization™, from Brain State Technologies®, facilitates.

Brainwave Optimization™ provides the brain with a mirror in which it can perceive itself, recognize its own imbalances, and adjust itself towards its own optimal state. Using EEG and advanced proprietary computer systems, we process brainwave activity into musical tones. The client, relaxing in a comfortable chair, in a soothing environment, hears these tones in real-time. As the brain hears its own activity, a resonance loop is created and the brain begins to auto-calibrate. As the brainwaves return to balance and harmony between the two hemispheres, our client’s frequently report, among other benefits, clearer thinking and greater focus.

What truly distinguishes this approach is that the brain itself does the work according to its own natural modes of behavior. Drugs aren’t introduced into the system to alter the brain’s chemistry. The client isn’t asked to consciously train the brain to behave according to some supposedly optimal norm. Brainwave Optimization™ simply holds up the mirror and the brain does just what it’s designed to do—adjusts itself for optimal performance.

Join us for the next Brain Talk, when we’ll explore the fuzzy feeling so many of us experience more fully. Click here to learn more >>