BRAIN CHANGE THERAPY: Clinical Interventions for Self-Transformation

Humans have extraordinary abilities that are largely undeveloped. Among those are the capacities to love, to create, and to learn (Leonard & Murphy, 2005)—capacities whose outer reaches are far beyond where most people venture. People innately possess the abilities necessary not only to thrive but to explore and, ultimately, shift into deeper levels of living. BCT rests on the understanding that a person’s brain–mind states are major determinants of both illness and health. Becoming aware of these states and learning how to work with them is crucial to healing the psyche and stewarding the body. The development of these skills is even more critical if one is to experience life in ways that are richly satisfying. Going even beyond that, they can enable a person to access and explore emergent states of consciousness.

Thriving is an emotional state of mind encompassing certain perspectives and behaviors that contribute to high functioning. In a state of thriving, a person maintains high levels of emotional, psychological, and social stability and well-being characterized by positive feelings and functioning (Keyes & Haidt, 2002). Keyes identified 13 “symptoms” of what he termed “flourishing”:

1. Regularly cheerful, in good spirits, happy, calm and peaceful, satisfied, and full of life (positive affect)

2. Feels happy or satisfied with life overall or domains of life (avowed happiness or avowed life satisfaction)

3. Holds positive attitudes toward oneself and past life and concedes and accepts varied aspects of self (self-acceptance)

4. Has positive attitude toward others while acknowledging and accepting people’s differences and complexity (social acceptance)

5. Shows insight into own potential, sense of development, and open to new and challenging experiences (personal growth)

6. Believes that people, social groups, and society have potential and can evolve or grow positively (social actualization)

7. Holds goals and beliefs that affirm sense of direction in life and feels that life has a purpose and meaning (purpose in life)

8. Feels that one’s life is useful to society and that the output of his or her own activities are valued by or valuable to others (social contribution)

9. Exhibits capability to manage complex environment and can choose or manage and mold environments to suit needs (environmental mastery)

10. Interested in society or social life; feels society and culture are intelligible, somewhat logical, predictable, and meaningful (social coherence)

11. Exhibits self-direction that is often guided by his or her own socially accepted and conventional internal standards and resists unsavory social pressures (autonomy)

12. Has warm, satisfying, trusting personal relationships and is capable of empathy and intimacy (positive relations with others)

13. Has a sense of belonging to a community and derives comfort and support from community (social integration)

Keyes and Haidt argued that both positive feelings and positive functioning are crucial to mental health and should serve as its definition. On the other hand, they noted that most adults fall into a category they called “languishing”—a state characterized by decreased psychosocial, and even physical, vitality, although lacking any specific mental illness. These individuals are twice as likely to experience a depressive episode compared with generally mentally healthy adults (Keyes & Haidt, 2002).

As clinicians, we need to exemplify thriving and promote this state to our clients rather than helping them only solve problems. To stay in a state of thriving requires mental training; one must learn how to regulate the mind and overcome the inevitable challenges and setbacks of daily life. His Holiness the Dalai Lama noted that “suffering and pain are understood to be a function of an untamed and undisciplined mind, while happiness and joy are understood to be a function of a tamed and disciplined mind” (as cited in Parvin, 2008, p. 1).

Habits of thought become habits of life. Thich Nhat Hanh, a Vietnamese Zen Buddhist monk, spoke to this notion when he said the following:

Traditional writings describe consciousness as a field, a piece of land, on which all kinds of seeds are sown—seeds for suffering, happiness, joy, sorrow, fear, annoyance and hope. And tradition describes the memory of feeling as a storehouse that is filled with all our seeds. As soon as a seed is manifested in our consciousness, it will always return to the storehouse stronger than before. . . . Every single moment during which we perceive something peaceful and beautiful waters the seed for peace and beauty within us. . . . And during that same time, other seeds like fear and pain remain unwatered. (as cited in Klein, 2006, pp. 118–119)

Eastern psychology and religion suggest that the seeds for happiness and well-being lie deep within each person. We would simply call this state “thriving” and suggest that both clients and clinicians can learn to spend more time in that state.

Matthieu Ricard (2008), a molecular biologist who became a Buddhist monk and is considered by some to be the “happiest man alive,” noted that it is really the state of mind that determines states of well-being or misery. He defined happiness as a deep state of well-being and wisdom that is present in every moment and may extend to an experience of states of clear, thoughtless concentration. Research shows that people can increase their happiness by making a conscious effort to “count their blessings,” reframe situations in a positive light, or perform kind acts (Lyubomirsky, 2008). In The Art of Happiness (Dalai Lama & Cutler, 1998), Howard Cutler, in a conversation with His Holiness the Dalai Lama, noted: “The systematic training of the mind—the cultivation of happiness, the genuine inner transformation by deliberately selecting and focusing on positive mental states and challenging negative mental states—is possible because of the very structure and function of the brain” (p. 306). Because pleasant experiences are not usually as intense as negative ones, they tend to be more difficult to remember. To be better retained, states of well-being need to be practiced. Pleasant rituals performed regularly assist in reinforcing states of well-being (Newberg, 2006).

Berns (2006) discovered that experiences that contain both moderate novelty and challenge produce a neural response that leads to feelings of satisfaction. Novel experiences stimulate the production of dopamine, the chemical of anticipated satisfaction, which reinforces the development of commitment and motivation, two important elements for achieving life success.

A person cannot be directly aware of the central nervous system’s functioning. What can be noticed and regulated, however, are emotional states of mind, body sensations, and the content of consciousness. Another way to assist clients in achieving enhanced well-being is by teaching them to distinguish states of mind that can be defined by levels of arousal and notice the ones that enhance, uplift, enchant, heal, or open awareness to wisdom. A clinical goal therefore is to learn how to shift into these states when an individual so chooses. Learning to harness negative thinking is the first step toward achieving the ability to choose to be happy.

Most people engage in habitual negative thinking. The mind, a brilliant but conflicted tool, keeps churning on and, in the process, further develops the art of using negative language (Mipham, 2005). Expressing anger repeatedly, for example, only serves to reinforce the feeling. If, instead of gripping the anger, a person can allow the ideation of it to move through the mind and the emotion of it to move through the body, the anger will naturally diminish. The same is true for any nagging thought, whether it is to eat something unhealthy or to engage in self-criticism. The nurturance of constructive states of mind entails practicing self-respect, integrity, compassion, generosity, love, and relationship (Goleman, 2003, p. 68). From an Eastern point of view, it is an indulgence to allow the mind to stay in a state of upset.

We suggest to clients that negativity can be harnessed and used as an advisor. For example, we might explain:

“When there is negativity, most likely some life pattern has been stimulated. A disturbing sensation or feeling can indicate an opening either into some new aspect of the self or an old and disowned one. It is important to identify and acknowledge those aspects of the self that may be unconsciously expressed in a relationship through withholding or passive anger. Allow the thought to come into awareness, being curious about it, and then let it go. This is important in cultivating the happiness skill.”

Engaging a natural curiosity can help a client identify the source of negative feeling. Knowing where it came from may provide an element of closure that makes it easier to let it go. Understanding what emotional circuit may have been triggered can also be useful in developing mental control. Once clients realize how they contribute to their own discontent, it becomes possible for them to see that it is a matter of active choice either to let a negative thought pattern play out to the end or to bring the mind back to a neutral space, shift mental gears, and change emotional states. At that point, negativity can be further harnessed. Not only can it alert a client to the activation of a negative life pattern; it can be thought of as a small bell ringing, simply reminding a person to bring the mind back to a neutral space.

The Awareness Wheel was developed by Sherod and Phyllis Miller as part of their Core Communication program, which teaches communication skills (Miller & Miller, 1997). It is based on the observation that, whether an individual is consciously aware of them or not, there are five key types of information or sources of relevant data in any situation. They are:

1. Sensory data, both external and internal: all the information picked up by the five senses as well as bodily sensations (e.g., a suddenly clenched stomach, a headache, or a sudden surge of adrenaline).

2. Thoughts: the meanings assembled from the sensory data as informed by a person’s ideas, beliefs, assumptions, judgments, interpretations, meanings, and expectations.

3. Feelings: the embodied response to thoughts (interpretations) of the sensory data. These include the physiological expression of what the Millers identify as the six basic emotions: happiness, sadness, anger, fear, disgust, and surprise.

4. Wants: the desires, hopes, aspirations, dreams, and yearnings that someone has for him- or herself and for others.

5. Actions: a person’s actual behaviors on a current basis, in the past or in the future.

As a client is beginning to examine his or her life in light of intermittent experiences of thriving and with the intent to increase the degree of thriving, the Awareness Wheel can be presented as an introspective tool for examining situations or experiences, making decision, resolving conflicts, and cultivating a deeper understanding of the self and other. For simplicity, the Awareness Wheel can be compressed into five questions:

We use the Awareness Wheel as an adjunct to BCT to assist a client in shifting his or her state to one in which a broader range of possibilities can be envisioned. Joseph often felt so caught in responsibility toward his elderly, divorced mother that before entering therapy, he would often give up his weekend plans to drive over to her house and work his way through her detailed list of chores. Increasingly exhausted, he finally acknowledged that his life was no longer his own.

We used the awareness wheel to help him move out of the bind he experienced. He asked himself: “What do I see/hear? My mother crying to me for help. What meaning do I make of it? I must rescue her from her pain. How do I feel about it? Guilty, if I don’t respond as she wishes; angry and resentful when I do. What do I want from this situation? I want to be free from having to do things for her on her schedule and free from guilt. What am I willing to do about it? I can give myself permission to put myself first when I need and want to. I can talk to her about hiring a handyman and help her find the right person. I can decide what gift of my time I will give her.”

The Awareness Wheel allowed Joseph to articulate the double bind that he was in and see that he needed to release himself from the burden of over-responsibility. He became conscious of the fact that it was not in his power either to keep her alive or happy. What he could do was decide what “portion” of himself he could give her freely and thereby remain in charge of his own mental states.

Negative emotional life patterns are often activated just outside of conscious awareness and result in a feeling of generalized anxiety. This anxiety, in turn, dictates nearly unconscious behavior designed to relieve it—like rain relieving the pressure of colliding weather systems. Over time, the relieving behavior becomes a habituated response. However, because two different mental states cannot be held simultaneously, practicing an alpha state of mind and focusing on compassion or a loved one can lower anxiety or other states of arousal over time and thereby break this pattern.

The goal of each of the following exercises is to decouple or decharge counterproductive neural pathways that have been conditioned over time and activate optimal pathways. In addition, the exercises attempt to inhibit anxiety. As Grawe (2007) recognized, “it becomes clear that the creation of an anxiety-inhibiting brain state will be a core aim of all therapeutic activity” (Grawe, 2007, p. 404). Furthermore, positive states lead to improved performance in any setting (Ashby, Isen, & Turken, 1999). As we introduce these exercises to a client, we try to make certain that the client understands that we are not suggesting that he or she should not have feelings about other people’s behaviors and the situations that arise. What we are suggesting is that, from the perspective of a calm state, a person can remember that we are all interconnected and, probably based on some similar experience in life, can intuit why someone else may have done something disturbing. This may help the person view those behaviors through a more compassionate lens.

We suggest that a client start with the first exercise, practicing for 5–10 minutes daily for at least 2 weeks. At that point (or sooner), we ask the client about his or her experience with the exercise. When the client feels comfortably proficient with the first exercise, we introduce the second one. After the client has become proficient at the second exercise, we suggest that he or she can choose when to use each one, as it may be appropriate to the current circumstances. However, some clients are particularly “left brained”: logical and perhaps not entirely comfortable with visualizations, conceivably feeling them to be nothing more than a matter of “imagining things.” For those clients, we recommend starting with the third exercise and later adding the second exercise.

2. Find the calm center inside by taking a few long inbreaths and exhaling twice as long as the inhalation.

3. Pair the feeling of the calm center with an imagined calm and relaxed location. Continue the breathing pattern noted above and bring to mind the place (e.g., a secluded spot by a waterfall on Maui).

4. Relax the tongue from the back to the front. Let it “float” up to the roof of your mouth. (A relaxed tongue will naturally rise until it rests up against the hard palate.)

5. Bring to mind someone (or a pet, a plant, or even a treasured object) that you love and focus on the feeling of loving that person/pet/plant/object.

6. Breathe slowly in and out and just notice your thoughts coming in and going out again.

We encourage the development of a balanced state of arousal because it is the foundation of a balanced and flexible emotional state. Neurologically, this state includes enough alpha brainwaves for self-comfort. A person’s self-perception of this state might be described as feeling “A-okay” or “at peace with myself and the world.” For most people, alpha wave activity is decreased by everyday stresses. Hardt (2007) noted that, as examples, the following mindsets hinder alpha wave activity: doubt, drowsiness, distractibility/worry, aversion/ill will, and boredom. Conquering an emotion such as fear, he said, can be done by imagining the worst-case scenario and then “flooding the brain with alpha waves” via positive emotions.

It turns out that music/song can be used to elicit a more balanced state of arousal. In a study at the University of Texas, Baker (2000) found that music stimulates several different brain areas. Because music and language structures are similar, it was suspected that by stimulating the right side of the brain with music, the left side would begin to (re)make connections as well. Based on this research, melodic intonation therapy (MIT) was developed for stroke patients. Even when patients cannot speak words, often they can sing music. For this reason, patients are encouraged to sing words rather than speak them in conversational tones in the early phases of MIT. Studies using positron emission tomography (PET) scans have shown Broca’s area (a region in the left frontal brain controlling speech and language comprehension) to be reactivated through repetition of sung words (Blood & Zatorre, 2001).

If a client needs to be in an active and alert but calm state, consider the following neuroconditioning exercise, which is more energizing and can result in balanced arousal:

2. Remember an activating song and mentally rehearse it from the beginning to the end. It might be a song from your childhood, a patriotic song, a favorite hymn, or maybe a ballad. We had one client who would mentally sing Louis Armstrong’s “What a Wonderful World.” Let your breathing match the phrasing of the music, just as though you were singing out loud.

In order to interrupt emotional reactions, we can focus our attention on different phases in the reaction process:

1. Identify the emotional state as it is perceived in the mind, for example, “discouraged,” “exasperated,” “grim,” or “resentful.”

2. Attempt to identify the triggered schema (negative life pattern). Ask yourself, “Where do I remember this emotion from earlier in life?”

3. Observe the body’s expression of the reactive emotion. How does the emotion feel at a somatic level?

4. Mentally step away from the feeling. For example, imagine floating up in a hot air balloon or just shift the mind away and focus somewhere else.

The purpose of each of the exercises above is to depotentiate long-used but dysfunctional neural pathways and activate optimal ones. The following story describes the same outcome achieved in a different manner:

When Bill was on his first extended Zen meditation retreat, the purpose of which was to become mindful and focused in the here-and-now, he meditated 6–8 hours a day with a group of other students. Meditation sessions ran for 50 minutes, followed by a short break and then another 50 minutes. There were also periods of mindful work around the center and meals. The retreat was conducted in “noble silence,” which meant that the students could not speak unless absolutely necessary, and then it was to be in hushed tones. They could not read anything, text anyone, use their cell phones, or listen to any podcasts or music. The only conversation they had was each day was during a brief meeting with the monk who led the retreat. He would ask “How is your meditation proceeding?”

After Bill had become comfortable sitting on a cushion, he thought he had mastered meditation. He was in a comfortable, blissful, dreamy state. When he had his first interview with the monk and described his experience, Bill was surprised by the monk’s response. He looked at Bill solemnly and said, “You are guilty of sloth.” He went on to say: “Meditation is not naptime, even if you can do it sitting up.” He told Bill the purpose of meditation was to observe the mind and be aware, and to have a clear and quiet mind. Bill was stunned, confused, angry, embarrassed, and felt like a failure.

During subsequent meditation sessions, Bill did everything in his power to drive out thoughts so that he could attain an undisturbed mind. During the next interview the monk asked once again how the meditation was proceeding. Bill smiled and, with the pride of a first grader who had just learned his alphabet, told the monk he had driven out all thoughts and had a clear, calm, mind. The monk surprised him with his response. He looked meaningfully at Bill, slowly picked up a small rock, and said, “You are no better than a rock. This rock has no thoughts, and it can do so much longer than you.” Bill was truly confused. The monk handed Bill the rock and said, “Meditate on this.” Bill left the interview more dazed and confused than ever.

Each meditation session seemed worse than the previous one. His mind was trying to figure out what the monk meant and why he had not been praised for what he had achieved. The next few interviews were similar: no sooner had Bill walked into the room, bowed and kneeled in front of the monk, than the monk would say with a sly grin, “You are fighting with the rock, and the rock is winning.” During those interviews, Bill never said a word and was dismissed after the monk’s comments. Bill was even more confused than before and wondered why he was on the retreat.

In a subsequent meditation session while staring at the rock, Bill had an epiphany: Meditating was not daydreaming or napping, and while it was a disciplined process, it was not a contest to see if he could drive out all thoughts and thereby earn his teacher’s praise. Meditation did not have anything to do with what the Zen master thought of Bill personally. The whole purpose was to be aware of his thoughts: When they arose, let them go, and bring his attention back to the breath. It was as simple and as difficult as that. A calm and undisturbed mind does not clutch at, or overly identify with, its thoughts. Neither is it just peacefully drifting through daydreams. At that moment, it was as if a heavy load had been lifted from Bill’s shoulders. Although technique and discipline are important, achieving a clear mind had far more to do with observing one’s thoughts and not identifying or fighting with them.

In the next interview, after Bill bowed and kneeled, the Zen master simply asked, “How is your meditation?” Bill described to him how he sat, observed thoughts, and gently brought the mind back to the breath, countless times. He said, “Is there anything else?” Bill replied, “Not right now.” The monk looked at him and asked how the rock was doing. Bill picked up the rock, extended his arm to offer it to the monk, and said, “I don’t know. You will have to ask the rock.” The monk smiled, put his hands together and bowed. Bill did the same in response. The monk then said, “Keep the rock as a reminder,” and Bill exited the room.

Bill had learned to take a step back from himself and simply observe his thoughts and emotions. What he observed were his confusion, anger, competitiveness, desire to please, and his need for praise. He learned that a clear and undisturbed mind was not a mind that never experienced such thoughts or feelings. The very act of simply being mindful of them—neither hanging on to them nor fighting them—allowed their quick dissipation. Bill was not his thoughts, however useful they might be. Schwartz and Begley (2002) reported that Buddhist mindfulness practice emphasizes that humans can operate out of 10 different states that range from suffering to anger to enlightenment. As miserable or blissful as they might be, Bill was not any of those states.

The benefits of training the mind are described in both Eastern and Western scriptures. The Dhammapada, a Buddhist scripture traditionally ascribed to the Buddha himself, (Thondup, 1996, p. 25) observes:

In a similar vein, the Book of Ecclesiastes (Eccl. 30:5), as translated in the New Jerusalem Bible (1985), states:

Therapists who work on developing mastery themselves are better able to assist their clients. Not only are clients’ states influenced positively, but clients experience an unconscious desire to live in the empowered states that the clinician experiences. Within the therapeutic context, the clinician also models taking one’s life to the next level and living more often in peak states.

After having tried many medications, Jean came to treatment for anxiety and panic attacks. Working with Carol, she started alpha–theta training and immediately began to lower her arousal rate. After 10 sessions she reported experiencing her workplace as much less disturbing, even though she was still responsible for meeting just as many deadlines. After 20 sessions, she noted that she slept better, felt calmer, and felt more in control. All her panic attacks had ceased, and she could remain calm even if her boss became upset with her. By the time Jean had finished roughly 40 sessions and terminated therapy, she had moved from being completely focused on her negative symptoms to having an interest in becoming the best that she could be. As she put it, the therapy had given her “a jumpstart” and, at that point, she was ready to continue her mind–body development on her own. One year later, Jean reported that she still felt great.

Too often clinicians come to see their role as “patching people up enough that they can go back out onto the battlefield of life.” To whatever extent possible, we encourage each client to go beyond simply healing dysfunction. Thriving—or “flourishing,” as Keyes described it—encourages living more authentically, breaking old patterns of behavioral automaticity, and largely avoiding states of anger and worry. Accessing unconscious resources such as confidence, flexibly changing states of consciousness, calming the mind and feeling at peace regardless of outside event—these are all attainable goals. Such development also gives a person the ability to perceive his or her life situation in a relatively objective manner and to stop fabricating stories about how he or she wishes it were. In our view, a state of joyous thriving is the least that we might wish for our clients—because much more is possible.

Yogi Sri Aurobindo (1872–1950) labeled what we might term higher or exceptional states of mind as the supramental states and suggested that they may be a key to evolutionary growth and higher awareness (Aurobindo, 1992). Cade and Coxhead (1991) and Wise (1997) defined the awakened mind as one having the ability to create both the desired mental state and content at will. As a precursor to developing an awakened or exceptional mind, a person needs to learn how to calm the mind and stay more frequently in positive states. Developing one-pointed concentration, flexible and creative thinking, expanded intuition, and a “mind like water” (so fluid that it can simply move around any obstacle) improves a client’s ability to deal with life’s challenges and builds compassion. These are states of “mental fitness.” To achieve the awakened mind—that is, psychological maturation characterized by a nonreactive mind—and maintain it for any appreciable length of time, a client needs to resolve past hurts and yearnings, areas of inadequacy, and participate in ongoing mind training. Meditative practices that promote detaching from thoughts (e.g., Vipassana meditation, Transcendental Meditation, centering prayer) or alpha brain entrainment for 10–20 minutes a day can lead to this level of mind discipline.

During meditation, the electrical activity of the brain shifts to the parietal region where one’s sense of self strengthens (Newberg et al., 2001). When the mind is quiet, self-understanding, wisdom, and creativity emerge. Through meditation, a person can move into the state of self-transcendence and into empathy for self and others. From there, the undisturbed mind may open to deeper aspects of the self and develop advanced states of mind where higher states are attained and maintained for increasing periods of time. These exceptional states eliminate chaotic thought and provide access to wisdom, clarity, and bliss.

The intentional development of supramental states of consciousness through alpha–theta biofeedback training, hypnosis, and heart rate coherence training (orderly heart rate variability synchronized with the breath) is a program we suggest to people who want to go further in training the mind and enhancing the quality of their daily lives. In these deep states, people discover the capacity to forgive those who have harmed them in the past and let go of any remnants of feeling victimized. More than that, the training facilitates the exploration of deeper parts of the self and a growing understanding of the interconnectedness and multidimensionality of life. The deep mind learns that solutions to some problems are not solutions per se, but rather new perspectives learned from new levels of awareness. Don Juan, the shaman who trained Carlos Castaneda in A Separate Reality, said: “Things don’t change. You change your way of looking, that’s all. . . . Whenever you look at things you don’t see them. You just look at them . . . to make sure that something is there. . . . [But when] you learn to see . . . a thing is never the same every time you see it, and yet it is the same” (Castaneda, 1971, p. 37).

It has been our experience over the last 30 years of therapeutic practice that a qualitatively different experience of life emerges out of a quiet, calm state. To date, we do not know the limitations of the human mind, but neuroscience suggests that the ability of humans to change and flourish is nothing short of remarkable (Cozolino, 2008). People may have an almost unlimited capacity to achieve balance and flexibility and to experience joy. According to Davidson (as cited in Goleman, 2003), by calming the amygdala and activating the left prefrontal cortex and the left middle frontal gyrus (the areas of the brain involved in the experience of happiness), a person can explore and experience what may be an unbounded process of mind- and self-transformation.

State-training in alpha–theta brain rhythms (4–12 Hz), using hypnosis or any of the brain-based technologies, has been shown to accelerate learning, cognitive and musical performance, interpersonal empathy and emotional stability (Hardt, 2007; Kirsch, Montgomery, & Sapirstein, 1995; Stanton, 1993; Rundle, 2009). Shifting into the alpha state also fosters a more relaxed and focused mind. When a person can produce consistent alpha waves, even under potentially stressful situations, profound insights and breakthroughs to greater self-understanding are more likely to occur.

A consistently maintained state of thriving is only the beginning of what is possible. Although different traditions concerned with the development of consciousness employ a variety of systems to categorize the states beyond thriving, they can be broadly summarized hierarchically as follows:

When clients are thriving, they begin to realize that putting up with chronic stressors is not “good enough.” Almost certainly, they begin to transform their interactions in the world, become aware of where their emotional energy is blocked, and seek to deal with deeper emotional issues to free up life energy. The ability to relate to deeper aspects of the self is a natural outgrowth from spending increasing amounts of time in a state of thriving and allows the development of deeper personal relationships. Thriving individuals tend to reframe chronic stressors by looking at the world through a different lens, one that appreciates other perspectives rather than feeling threatened by them. Realizing that even a long life is relatively short, the consideration becomes: “How do I want to spend my time? In chronic struggle or focusing on what is really important to me?” And at that point, individuals who value thriving can freely decide either to challenge a problematic situation in order to change it or accept it and move their attention to other things.

The next higher state of mind is the witness state or a state of unwavering calm. This state of mind allows a person to observe the contents of mind without reacting to it even in the midst of what might otherwise have been upsetting events. Emotions, thoughts, and inner conversations can be stimulated by events and yet a person who has trained the mind can notice these and allow them to pass by as if they were butterflies.

A further, more mature mind state developed with training is an enduring sense of compassion. Being able to understand another’s struggle promotes loving-kindness, connection, and openness. It can also offer insights into another person’s innermost reality. Ultimately, compassion will lead one to live in service to others—be they other people, endangered species, the eco-system of the planet, or perhaps to consciousness itself. In describing his hierarchy of needs and human growth, Abraham Maslow (1975) placed self-actualization at the top of the pyramid. This stage comes after a period of generativity, wherein one creatively uses talents and capabilities to serve other people. Along that line, Alfred Adler broke with Freud not just over the drive theory and Adler’s theory of the inferiority complex, but also around what he thought was the purpose of life. Adler (1969) believed that the highest form of mental health was not just the alleviation of neurotic suffering, but of social service.

From the inner space of a quiet mind–heart, one can emerge into a state marked by an embodied sensation of expansiveness that is free of all fear. It is loving, nonseeking, joyful, and peaceful. The same inner state, however, can be experienced in either of two different modes. One is a deep, centered inward-drawing stillness; the other is an outward-going momentum of which ecstatic dance is perhaps the best known expression. Although almost everyone has experienced this state at some time, the English language has no single, well understood name for it. People call it “a state of emergence,” “presence,” “a quality of consciousness,” “the Tao,” “an experience of the Word,” “being filled,” “a true state of grace,” and literally countless other terms. To reach it, a shift in consciousness—for which there is no single set of directions—needs to occur. For many people, there is a specific piece of music that facilitates its arising; for others it is being out in nature, seeing an extraordinary sunrise, the practice of an “extreme” sport such as rock climbing, or simply falling into one of those few conversations that has such a quality that a person remembers it for the rest of his or her life.

Finally, one of the highest states of development is unity consciousness. This is experienced as a connectivity to all of creation, such that one perceives the true absence of all boundaries, that there is only One, while simultaneously being able to distinguish perfectly well the physical boundaries of both animate and inanimate entities. Unity consciousness normally takes years of meditation practice to achieve. When subjects have reported experiences of a dissolution of self into a boundless emptiness, 40 Hz amplitude increases in the right front temporal area commonly have been detected (Lehmann et al., 2001). Forty Hz, although not in the theta range, may be the “signature” of a transpersonal state (p. 2). Using alpha–theta training, one client reached an experience of unity consciousness in 40 sessions. Occasionally when working with people who are highly motivated to develop the mind, we have trained them to achieve 40 Hz directly; however, they need to follow this transitory experience with some type of further training at home and/or within some spiritual tradition if they wish to deepen and maintain the enhanced state of mind.

As Irving Kirsch (2010) suggested, meaning and belief are the foundations of psychotherapeutic change. There is a cognitive aspect to BCT that is also found in other types of psychotherapy and in meditation retreats: With inner work, a person’s beliefs about him- or herself, about the world around him or her, and about the ultimate nature of reality may undergo a deepening transformation. Not only do a person’s beliefs and perception of reality influence his or her neural patterning; a person’s neural patterning also influences his or her beliefs and perception of reality. It is a stream that endlessly loops back onto itself—but it is not a closed loop. Like a stream in nature, one can step into it at many different points. Some people will want to wade in and splash in the stream briefly—just enough to cool off on a hot summer day and reduce the distress of dysfunctional life and neural patterns. Others will discover the joy of swimming, of thriving, and make that a consistent part of their lives. They may even learn to dive into some of the stream’s deeper pools. And a few will choose to become superb swimmers. No longer content with the stream, they will keep going until they reach the ocean.

CHAPTER 12

Thriving and Beyond