1. Welcome to Issue #153 (October 17, 2005) of MIND CHATTER, 
the e-mail newsletter of Centerpointe Research Institute: 
http://www.centerpointe.com.

Mind Chatter is published once a month, on or about the 16th of each month.

Please send Mind Chatter to a friend, and please send us 
your questions, comments, and suggestions.

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2. If you would like to unsubscribe, you can manage your account 
   via the link at the end of this newsletter. 
   (But please don't. We like you and we want you to stay.)

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3. In This Issue

// MindQuotes (scroll to #5)

// A few recommendations that may benefit you (scroll to item #6)

// Feature Article
   Chaos is good--if you know what to do with it
   by Bill Harris, Director (scroll to item #7)

// Glowing Testimonials of the Month (scroll to #8)

// Book Review (scroll to #9)
   by Marc Gilson
   The Traveler?s Gift
   Seven Decisions That Determine Personal Success
   by Andy Andrews

// Important Announcements (scroll to #10)

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4. MIND CHATTER contains articles about:

// How you create your life--and how you can stop unconsciously creating 
experiences and outcomes you do not want, and instead begin to create 
exactly what you do want

// Personal and spiritual growth in general

// Meditation (high- and low-tech)

// Recovery from emotional trauma

// 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.

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5. Mind Quotes

The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.
       - Steven Covey

Tomorrow is often the busiest day of the week.
       - unknown

The function of leadership is to produce more leaders, not more followers.
       - Ralph Nader

If you want to make peace, you don't talk to your friends. You talk to your
enemies.
	-Mother Teresa

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6. I want to show you how to create the exact life you want--
inside and out! Here's how to experience a FREE preview...

I know that many people may have promised that they can teach you how to create
the life you want.

I promise you that I really can--and have for thousands of people.

I've also arranged for you to be able to experience a sample of how I do it,
FREE.

So, here's a very special opportunity for you...something that can totally turn
your life around. And, it could be worth a considerable amount of money to you,
as well.

Just for a moment, imagine:

WHAT IF you could be IN CHARGE of what happens to you--including your feelings
and emotions and other internal states, as well as your external results?...

Wouldn't that be a lot better than waiting for life to "just happen," where you
sometimes get what you want, and sometimes you get what you don't want?

Are you willing to learn exactly HOW you can do this?

For the last year and a half, I've been teaching three 12-lesson online courses
called the Life Principles Integration Process, or LPIP, that teach you all of
this, and more. I've received thousands of emails and letters from the people in
these courses telling me how what they've learned has transformed their lives,
even saved their lives. (You can see some of the comments people have made
below.)

So more people could afford the LPIP courses, and as an introductory offer, I'm
offering them for an incredibly low $249 per course. 
 
And, if you sign up for all three, I'll give you the third course for FREE.

This actually made each course $166 each, about $13.83 per lesson.

If I taught the LPIP material in seminar form, it would probably take at least
ten long intense days to teach each course. And with all the personal follow-up
I include I'd have to charge several thousand dollars per course for you to
attend.

And even at that lofty price, it would be worth it, I promise you.

Not only that, there is an iron-clad money back guarantee on these courses.Take
the course and do the homework, and if you don't think this is the most
transformational experience you've ever had, I'll immediately refund your entire
tuition.
 
In other words, you have nothing to lose but whatever ways you have been
automatically creating what you don't want in life.

I will warn you, though. These LPIP courses are not your typical pablum-filled
feel-good seminars where you feel high at the end but realize three weeks later
that little if anything really changed.

If you take these three courses, EVERYTHING will change--and, for the better.
Your life will be transformed. You will have all the tools you need to be in
direct control of your life--your feelings, your internal state, your external
results, your behavior.

And, you will gain a huge insight into who you really are, why you're here, and
what life is all about.

Plus you'll learn, step-by-step, the exact strategies, internal and external,
used by the most successful people in the world to get anything they want. And,
I'll show you how to make sure you use them and make them work for you.

And, as I said, if you don't get what you want from these courses, for any
reason, you can get a refund. I'm taking all the risk, other than your time
investment in actually doing the lessons.

If you're not serious about changing your life, if you aren't willing to do what
it takes to operate at the highest level and really be happy, peaceful, and
successful ALL THE TIME, this isn't for you.

But if you're serious, if you're sincere, these three courses will utterly and
completely change your life.

Here's a huge and very unique benefit you'll get from these LPIP online courses:

In addition to everything else, all LPIP course participants get unlimited email
access to me for any questions they have about course content. I answer every
one of these emails personally--no staff members are involved--and some of my
answers, when necessary, are sometimes three, five, even seven pages long.

I put everything into this course, because I really, sincerely want you to get
everything I'm promising.

You though, have a part in the success of these courses--in fact, a big part. I
don't wave a magic want over you and change you into a happy, peaceful,
successful person in complete control of his or her life.

If just tell you how to do it, and give you an easy way to make the change.

Because I have such a huge personal time investment in answering all your
questions, I want to make one thing very clear, though. Please DO NOT take these
courses unless you're willing to do your part. I do not have the time to waste
on those who aren't sincere and aren't willing to pay the price to create the
internal changes they want.

But if you ARE sincere, and you really do want to change your life, I want to
show you how to do it, and I will take you, step by step, through everything you
need to know.

You CAN create an entirely new life for yourself, regardless of your past or
present circumstances. 

You can read more about each course and what it includes, and even listen to a
free preview lesson, just by clicking below:

http://www.centerpointe.com/life/preview

So please, go listen to the free preview lesson, and if you really are ready to
change your life, enroll in this amazing courses risk-free.

I look forward to having you in these courses and showing you that the
possibilities for what your life can be really are limitless...regardless of
your present or past circumstances.

Just click here to listen to the free preview lesson and to take advantage of
the old low price before we're forced to raise it on March 1st:

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://www.centerpointe.com/life/preview
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Be well.

Bill

**

"When I actually SAW my brainwaves, I just about fell off my chair!...

I recently experienced something so incredible--something that affected me in
such an amazing way--that I just had to tell you about it.

If you're at all serious about your emotional and spiritual growth, this is
going to absolutely blow your mind!

Here's what it's all about:

I recently had the good fortune to meet an amazing man. Dr. James Hardt is
probably the world's greatest expert on human brain waves, their connection to
various beneficial states (especially all kinds of spiritual states), and--this
is the best part!--how, using a very sophisticated form of brain wave
biofeedback tested over 30 years, you can learn to create states of happiness,
joy, feelings of connection and love, and many other beneficial mental,
emotional, and spiritual states, at will. 

A couple of months ago, I traveled to San Jose, California to attend one of Dr.
Hardt's alpha brain wave trainings. The purpose of the training is to use
feedback from your own brain to learn how to intentionally make lots and lots of
alpha waves, associated with...

...meditation, creativity, emotional healing, incredible joyfulness, and a lot
more!

The first morning, electrodes were gently attached to certain key locations on
my head. I entered a sound-proof booth and sank into a comfortable chair.
Speakers on either side of my head played back special tones, one for each
electrode location. These tones, and the music they created, came from alpha
waves?

...created by my own brain!

When I made more alpha waves, the tones became louder. When I created less
alpha, the tones became quieter. Over the seven days of the training, this
feedback allowed me to create more and more alpha waves, and as I did so...

...I began to feel more and more joy...more inner peace...and more and more
connection to the universe!

It was amazing. All the training participants had profound meditative and
spiritual experiences, which Dr. Hardt helped us understand. Emotional and
spiritual issues needing resolution came to the surface, and Dr. Hardt showed us
how to resolve them (which is much easier when you're making a lot of alpha
waves). As issues were resolved, we were able to make more and more alpha, and
our experience of joy and connection...

...increased and increased and increased!

By the end of the week, everyone was transformed (more about that below).

Dr. Hardt, over 30 years, has trained Zen masters (who told him his training was
better than Zen because, unlike with a Zen master, your brain can give you
feedback every second!) and other advanced spiritual seekers. He's also trained
high-level Special Forces troops...business and artistic geniuses...and people
like you and me who are interested in rapid spiritual and emotional growth. 

Dr. Hardt has published his findings in peer-review journals and is considered
to be the world's most respected authority on brain wave biofeedback training.
As you know, I already know a lot about brain waves and spiritual states, but
Dr. Hardt had a lot to teach even me!

Here's something that I found to be particularly amazing: 

The Alpha I brain wave training I attended teaches you how to make the same
brain waves made by those who have practiced Zen meditation (or something
comparable) for 21 to 40 years or more--but it does so in just seven days!
Dr. Hardt's brainwave training is a huge shortcut!

Sounds good, but do the changes last, you ask? 

Yes, they do. Studies show that those who have taken this training are making
even more alpha waves a year later! Just as with Holosync, this training creates
a momentum for growth that continues long after you stop.

The trainings are small, with lots of personal attention--a maximum of 5
students per training. Two people in my training arrived depressed and confused
about their lives, and with a significant amount of emotional baggage (in one
case, quite severe emotional baggage). 

At the end of seven days, though, these two looked and behaved like the
long-time Holosync users I see at Centerpointe retreats. They were happy,
bubbly, focused, joyful, and radiant. They smiled. Their posture was more
confident and their attitude upbeat. They looked you in the eye when they talked
to you, whereas before the training...

...they could not do so. 

I've kept in touch with both of these people, and the positive changes they
experienced have definitely lasted--even accelerated--in the couple of months
since the training.

Would you like to know what happened for me? I thought you would! When I arrived
at the training, I was coming out of a period where I had been working
16-hour-days (working on the lessons for my three online courses) for over a
year and a half. I was, quite frankly, pretty wiped out. I handle stress very
well, but even so, I was pretty worn down.

I left the training renewed and uplifted, and with even more awareness about how
I create certain parts of my life. As you may know, I already have a very high
awareness of these things, but this training accentuated that awareness--a lot. 

In a word, it was remarkable.

But something even more amazing happened for me at the training. Check this out:

On Day 5 of the training, I began making huge amounts of a very unique type of
brain waves Dr. Hardt identified as those signifying...

...huge amounts of kundalini energy!

You may know that in traditional yoga and meditation schools, kundalini is the
spiritual energy lying dormant (in most people) at the base of the spine, and a
"kundalini awakening" is an incredible spiritual event. When awakened by
spiritual practices such as meditation, this energy travels up the spine, moving
through and awakening each of the chakras--awakening various spiritual energies
and abilities. 

Based on Dr. Hardt's 30 years of research, it turns out that kundalini energy
has a very specific brain wave signature! And, on Day 5, I began to make LOTS of
it! (I was supposed to be making alpha waves, but who cares!) 

As I experienced the brain waves of kundalini, I also experienced incredible
bliss!

Dr. Hardt also told me that the small number of people he has studied who were
able to create such kundalini brain waves all seen to have the ability...

...to manifest anything they want in life!

If you'd like to see what the brain waves of kundalini energy looks like, click
here to view a portion of my EEG record from Day 5:
http://www.centerpointe.com/kundalini

All spiritual states have brain wave signatures!

In fact, Dr. Hardt has identified the brain wave signatures corresponding to
many spiritual states and stages of increasingly advanced meditation, including
states of egolessness, out of body experiences, profound visionary experiences,
and even the brain wave signature of the ability to make halos!

But that not all! It's what Dr. Hardt has done with these
"spiritual brain wave signatures" that really has me excited!

Here's what he did:

Once Dr. Hardt observed certain high spiritual states in the brain waves of Zen
masters and other advanced meditators, he was then able to design specific
biofeedback training programs to teach others how to create these same
states--often in as little as seven days! (It often takes several decades to
learn to experience these high states!)

Once you complete the Alpha I training I attended, you can take Dr. Hardt's
Alpha II training. In this more advanced training you gain the ability to
exercise even more control over which part of the brain is generating alpha
(yes, it makes a difference), while also further increasing your ability to
create more. 

After Alpha II, you can take Dr. Hardt's Theta I training where you learn to
make what he calls mystical theta (very different from sleep theta). 

I'm told that in the Theta training trainees experience some very profound
spiritual states. 

Then, you can take the more advanced Theta II training.

There are also Delta brain wave trainings (this is where you get into learning
how to make the kundalini brain waves I was making) and Dr. Hardt even has
trainings where... 

...you and a partner learn to make brain waves together
(what Dr. Hardt calls Shared Feedback)!

As you can probably tell,I'm very excited about all of this. In fact, along with
Holosync, I consider Dr. Hardt's work to be perhaps the most ground-breaking
work in spiritual growth on this planet.

Here's why biofeedback is so powerful: 

From the time you were an infant, everything you've learned has involved your
ability to receive feedback about your progress. When you first learned to walk,
or pick up an object with your hand, you could see and feel what was going on.
This feedback allowed you to refine your technique until you could do the task
perfectly.

Can you guess which part of you does NOT receive feedback about how it is doing?

That's right. It's your brain wave activity. But what if you could receive
feedback about your brain wave activity? What if you could receive direct
feedback telling you when you were making the beginnings of high spiritual
states, happiness, joy, heightened creativity--or any other state? With that
feedback, you could also quickly master these abilities, too.

And that's exactly what happens in these trainings.

In fact, Dr. Hardt is fond of saying, "The introduction of feedback to any
system will elevate that system to a higher level of functioning."

Do you see how exciting this is?

Dr. Hardt has spent the last 30 years creating the most sophisticated
technological methods for giving the brain direct and accurate feedback about
its electrical activity. Since that electrical activity is directly related to
your happiness, the amount of joy you experience, and the level of spiritual
connection you feel in any given moment...

...Dr. Hardt's trainings will dramatically 
accelerate your ability to create all of 
these things, and a lot more!

And, in my opinion, when used in conjunction with Holosync, these trainings are
even more powerful!

If you aren't super-excited about this by now, you probably just don't care that
much about your spiritual growth. But if you are excited--as I certainly
am--you'll want to check out Dr. Hardt's website and then give him a call to
find out when his next training will be. 

When you visit his website (www.biocybernaut.com) be sure to read his
description of his own first experience with biofeedback, where he had an
incredibly profound spiritual experience. This description is called A Tale of
Self-Discovery, you can find it through the Site Map link on his site--and, I
guarantee you...

...it will blow your mind.

There is one drawback to these trainings (other than having to deal with the
fact that your life will change dramatically in just seven days). First, because
the trainings involve incredibly expensive and proprietary computer and
equipment systems developed by Dr. Hardt and his colleagues over 30 years of
research, and because Dr. Hardt can train only five people at one time, the
costs of delivering these trainings are unfortunately fairly high. 

On the other hand, what price can you place on the ability to learn, in just
seven days, how to make the same brain waves as a Zen master--and to deeply feel
the happiness and joy I believe are your birthright as a human being?

Not to worry, though, because I figured out a way for you to save 20% on your
tuition.

Here's how:

Dr. Hardt would pay me a 20% affiliate fee for each person who takes his Alpha I
training because of my recommendation. However, to help you take advantage of
this incredible training and everything it will do for your happiness and your
spiritual growth, I'm going to give you the 20% fee if you take Dr. Hardt's
Alpha I training during July, August, or September of this year. That means you
get 20% off the regular tuition.

Please, right now, visit Dr. Hardt's website (www.biocybernaut.com). There's a
ton of fascinating information about biofeedback, brain waves and how they
relate to spiritual states, and a lot more. After you educate yourself, give Dr.
Hardt a call (use the Training Center phone number listed in the "Contact"
section) with any questions and to find out about training dates (the phone
number is on his website). 

When you call, be sure to tell him you are from Centerpointe and that I sent
you, as this will save you a significant amount of money. (I want to be clear
that I'm taking no money for recommending this--I'm doing it solely because I
strongly believe in it.)

Here's another way to make it financially easier to participate:

Dr. Hardt has arranged a special program with Wells Fargo Bank, specifically
created for those who attend his trainings. This program will allow you to
finance the entire amount of the training at very reasonable terms. You can ask
Dr. Hardt about this program when you speak to him.

Or, try the 2-Day Sample...

Finally, if you're not sure about the 7-day training, and want a "taste" before
you decide, there is also a 2-day "sample" you can take at a much-reduced cost.
And, at the conclusion of these two days, you can opt to continue with the full
training if you want to and apply the entire 2-day fee to the full training.

Finally, Dr. Hardt fully guarantees the 7-day training. 
 
If, at the end of the 7th day you don't think it delivered everything you were
promised, and a lot more, just tell Dr. Hardt before you leave the training
facility, and he'll give you a full refund. 

Even if you're unsure, please visit www.biocybernaut.com. At the very least, I
want you to have the education you'll get from this website. When you get there,
I suggest that you read the whole site (though there's a lot to read). I did. 

At least be sure to read A Tale of Self-Discovery, Dr. Hardt's description of
his first experience with brain wave biofeedback. Then, call Dr. Hardt (again,
use the Training Center phone number listed in the "Contact" section of the
website) with any questions. Be sure to tell him you heard about this from Bill
Harris and Centerpointe.

If you're at all interested, please move quickly, though. Because the trainings
are small, and because many spots in upcoming trainings are already taken--and
because I'm telling a LOT of people about this--act now before the trainings are
booked up beyond the three months during which you can receive the 20% discount.

And finally, after you take the training, please write to Centerpointe and tell
us about your experience at the training!

So, go visit www.biocybernaut.com right now, while you're thinking about it!

Be well.

Bill Harris

PS: Don't forget, I believe in this so much I've arranged to give you a 20%
scholarship if you decide to take Dr. Hardt's Alpha I training during July,
August, or September of this year. Don't wait. Go check out www.biocybernaut.com
right now, and when you call be sure to tell him that you heard about it from
me, so you can get your scholarship.

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7. Feature Article
Chaos is good--if you know what to do with it
by Bill Harris

Everyone has experienced times when life just doesn't make sense, when for some
reason the familiar ideas, values, and ways of looking at the world don't
provide the stability they used to provide. At such times life feels chaotic,
nothing makes sense, and we feel overwhelmed.

How you deal with these times--especially if your life is about growth and
personal evolution--can make the difference between stagnation and unhappiness
on one hand, and rapid growth, evolution, happiness, and personal freedom.

Let's say that you have been in a romantic relationship, and everything has been
going along pretty smoothly. There are little ups and downs, but overall things
are pretty stable. The relationship makes sense to you. You feel as if you
understand the "rules" and you know what to expect.

Then, you discover that your partner has been untrue to you. This information
rocks your world. You can't believe this could happen! You feel sick, confused.
Your head is swimming. All of a sudden, nothing makes sense, when a few moments
before everything was fine.

In addition to the emotional upheaval, your model of relationships--what they
are supposed to be and what is supposed to happen--goes from stable and
predictable to unstable and chaotic.

Whether the relationship ends or rights itself, things are never the same again.
An element has been introduced that wasn't there before. In terms of creating a
new internal model of relationships, there are many possible outcomes. One
possibility is that you shut down emotionally and decide that you never want
another relationship--the pain is too great, the possibilities too uncertain. On
the other hand, your model of relationships could expand to include the
possibility of infidelity and the kind of people who might engage in it, along
with steps you might take to prevent it or at least to dramatically lower the
possibility.

Death...or Reorganization??

In the first case, your model of relationships shuts down. In the second case,
your model of relationships reorganizes at a higher level, one that includes the
information your original model did not include. Once your idea of relationships
reorganizes at a higher level, things once again make sense, but in a totally
new and different way.

Let's take another situation. You start a business, and it turns out to be
pretty successful. You have a system for finding new customers, efficiently
getting your product to them, keeping track of the sales, and giving good
service. The business and your systems for running it "make sense" to you. Then,
you dramatically improve your ability to create new customers. In fact, the
orders come in so fast you have trouble filling them, and you begin to get
behind. As you get behind, your ability to keep track of the sales suffers, and
so does your customer service. People complain, and some cancel their orders.
Now, the business and your systems for running it begin to not make sense as
things go from smooth and stable to chaotic and unstable.

Again, there are many possible outcomes. One is that the chaos increases,
customers take their business elsewhere, and eventually you go out of business.
Or, hopefully, you take a look at the order fulfillment process and figure out
how to change it in such a way that allows you to handle a lot more orders, and
the business reorganizes at a higher level. As it does so, things make sense
again, but in a whole new way, one you would have never imagined before the
period of chaos.
	
Resiliency has it's limits...

Human beings are very resilient. You experience and deal with constant change
every day without breaking a sweat. The traffic is heavier or lighter, our
friends and relatives act in different ways, the weather is different, the store
has new products and runs out of others, the outcomes of different things we try
change. Despite the fact that no day is ever the same as any other, we pretty
easily handle this ebb and flow of life--as long as the changes and variations
aren't too big.

If the changes are too big, such as in the two examples above, things begin to
be chaotic, and that bothers us. We resist, and in resisting we feel stressed.
Most people do not know it, but what we do in these times of chaos has a huge
impact on our lives and our growth.

Let's take a look what is actually happening in the two examples above--and in
millions of other situations we encounter.

You are a whirlpool

Everyone has a threshold for what they can handle, and when that threshold is
exceeded by events we feel stressed, chaotic, even overwhelmed. Scientists now
know that human beings are a prime example of what are called open systems,
systems that freely exchange energy with their environment. In fact, open
systems are a flow of energy, very much like a whirlpool where water comes in
the top of the whirlpool and exits at the bottom. Stop the input--or the
output--and the whirlpool collapses. 

We are, of course, much more complex than a simple whirlpool. We constantly take
in heat, light, food, oxygen, water, sensory impressions, cosmic rays, and
several other forms of input. And, we constantly give off heat, motion, carbon
dioxide, various waste products, and various types of behavior, creativity, etc.
This constant flow of material and information is who you are. You are not a
conduit through which this flow passes, but the flow itself. Every cell in your
body is replaced at various rates, depending on what part of your body we're
talking about. You are just like the whirlpool, albeit your whirlpool moves more
slowly.
	
How much can you dissipate?

Scientists call open systems dissipative structures because they have the
ability to dissipate the chaos created by waste products to their environment.
In doing so, they are able to maintain their structure. In effect, you are
dissipating chaos from the system, and scientists call this dissipated chaos
entropy. Entropy is a measure of the amount of randomness, or chaos, in a
system. 

To maintain the stability of your body and your sense of who you are, you must
constantly take in new raw materials and then dissipate the resulting
entropy--the build up of chaos--from the system. The amount coming in and the
amount going out must balance, at least within a certain range that allows for
the daily changes of traffic, weather, and the daily outcomes of life I
mentioned above. As long as what happens remains within a certain range, you can
pretty easily deal with it.
	
The moment of truth

What happens if you cannot dissipate the entropy as it builds up? What happens
if more comes in than expected, while your ability to dissipate the chaos stays
the same? Just as with the relationship or business mentioned above, the chaos
will build up in the system. If, finally, this chaos exceeds the upper range
beyond which you no longer can deal with variations in your environment, you
being to feel it in a very real way. You feel chaotic inside and things just
don't make sense anymore. Your threshold for what you can handle has been
exceeded, and you feel overwhelmed.

This is the moment of truth in terms of your ability to grow and evolve as a
human being.

That sinking feeling

Here's what most people do: they say to themselves, in one way or another,
"Things are falling apart! I'm falling apart! I've got to stop this from
happening!" At this point, there are two common responses. To explain these two
responses, consider what you would do if you were out on the ocean in a boat and
the boat began to fill up with water and looked as if it might sink. What would
you do? 

One possibility is to grab a bucket and bail like crazy. If the output (the
bailing) is greater than the input (the water coming in) you might keep the boat
afloat. And, if the whatever is making the water come into the boat stops, or at
least slows down, you must might save the boat from sinking.

A second possibility would be to find the hole and plug it--in some way to keep
more water from coming in.

When a person becomes overwhelmed--when the input from life exceeds their
natural ability to dissipate the entropy--they generally choose the human
equivalent of one of these two approaches. Some people frantically try to push
the entropy out of the system. They get angry. They shout. They cry. They freak
out. They strike out at others. They might do something physical, exercise
compulsively, or in some way push energy out of the system. If they can push
enough energy out, and if the overwhelming input eventually subsides, they can
"save" the system that makes up their model of the world, their way of seeing
things and responding to them.

On the other hand, some people do their best to keep more input from entering
the system. They isolate themselves. They might get depressed (when a person
gets depressed they actually breath less, so as to take in less air, their
pupils constrict so as to take in less light, and overall their bodily functions
slow down so as to take in less of everything). In every way, they try to
decrease the amount of input to the system. If a person can successfully do
this, their natural ability to dissipate a certain amount of entropy may allow
them to eventually right the system.

And, of course, many people will also do whatever they can to distract
themselves when overwhelmed. This, as you might imagine, does nothing to right
the system.

Win the battle, lose the war

Ah, success. The system has been saved, and you feel okay again. Things once
again "make sense." But there is a problem with this approach. If you save the
system, you are left with the same system you started with, with the same
limitations. The next time the environment hands you more input than you can
handle (and you know it will), you become overwhelmed again, the chaos builds,
things once again don't make sense, and you go back to the same coping
mechanisms to save the system once again.

Many people do this over and over for their entire lives. They feel okay. Then,
the environment hands them more than they can handle (in other words, their
threshold for what they can dissipate is exceeded), and they go into chaos.
Then, to save the system they either push the entropy out like crazy, or do
their best to shut down further input. The system eventually is saved, and they
go back to feeling okay--only to repeat the same pattern over and over.

How to have a positive breakdown

Is there another way? Yes, there is. Amazingly, it involves allowing the system
(including your way of seeing yourself and your place in the universe) to become
totally chaotic, if that's what happens, and finally to break down and fall
apart.

It sounds grim--until you understand what happens at the moment of breakdown.

Belgian-born Russian scientist Illya Prigogine won the 1977 Nobel Prize for
Chemistry for work on dissipative structures--open systems that maintain, and
even increase, their complexity by exporting entropy to their environment. He
called this moment of breakdown--the moment when the chaos reaches the point
where the system can no longer sustain itself--a bifurcation point. At this
bifurcation point, an infinite number of possibilities (literally) present
themselves. 

One of these infinite number of options is total breakdown, the death of the
system. But the other possibilities--infinite in number--all involve the system
reorganizing itself in a new way, at a higher level of functioning. The
resulting new system is more complex and more resilient. Because its ability to
dissipate entropy to the environment is now higher, it can handle the input the
old system could not handle.

Death and Rebirth

This change is not gradual. It is a true quantum leap, a true death and rebirth.
Something totally new, something that previously could not be imagined, is
created. Here is how the process feels, from the human point of view: at first,
things make sense. Then, as the input to the system increases beyond your
ability to dissipate the resulting entropy, the system become chaotic, and
nothing makes sense. Finally, as the system reorganizes at a higher level,
everything makes sense again, but in a totally new way.

Ilya Prigogine and other scientists have proven the universality of this
process. It is, in fact, the process by which all change in the universe
happens: the creation of a star, the germination of a seed, the division of a
cell, the course of a disease, a chemical reaction, an audience breaking into
applause, all learning--and all of your own personal and spiritual growth. 

This process of chaos and reorganization is nothing less than the mechanism by
which the universe changes and evolves. It is God in action.

Here is the lesson in all of this for those of us involved in personal and
spiritual growth. Most humans have a gut-level response to internal chaos--we
feel the need to protect and save the system when it goes into chaos. As I've
said, saving the system keeps it from evolving, and condemns us to continuously
going into chaos, becoming overwhelmed, suffering, taking extreme (and
dysfunctional) steps to save the system, coming back to balance, and then
repeating the process again and again and again throughout life.

You are not the system

Why would someone do this to themselves, when this process carries with it the
wonderful benefit of new evolution and an ability to deal with whatever happens
with increased peace and equanimity? After considering this question for two
decades, I believe I have discovered the reason: if you assume that you are
falling apart when the system goes into chaos--if you identify the system as
you--you will do anything to save it. 

If, however, you realize that you are not the system, and that the system is
merely your map of who you are, then you can let it go ahead and fall apart with
the knowledge that a better map is on the way. Knowing this, you are able to
stand aside and watch the process, knowing that you are watching your own
evolution, rather than your breakdown.

How to do it


First, you have to notice that you are experiencing an increase in chaos. "Here
I am, in chaos." Then, you have to acknowledge why the chaos is happening. "My
threshold for what I can handle is too low." Then you have to remind yourself
that since chaos is the first step in reorganizing the system at a higher
level--one that will work much better than the old one and handle much
more--this is actually a big opportunity. 

"Hallelujah! I am about to evolve, and once I make the leap to the next level,
I'll be able to handle more--and a lot of things that cause me to suffer now
will fall away!" You must learn to let it be okay that you are going through the
interim period of chaos, and watch what happens (more about that in a future
article). Resisting the chaos, trying to get rid of it, or trying to keep more
input from entering the system, will at best make the process painful, and at
worst will keep the reorganization from happening at all.

Few people in the world really understand how change works, which is why most
people fight it. And, because they often "win" this battle over the change
trying to happen, they lose the war. By fighting off change, you get to be
pushed past the same old low threshold over and over until you finally allow it
to reorganize itself at a higher level.

But you do understand how change works, which will save you untold suffering, if
you will only take advantage of your knowledge. Change is a natural process. You
don't need to know "how" to do it. The entire universe has been evolving for
billions of years by this very mechanism of chaos and reorganization. All you
have to do is get out of the way and this process will work for you. Here are
the steps once more:

1. Notice and acknowledge that you are in chaos or stress. 

2. Realize it this happening not because of something outside of you. Yes, there
is a stimulus, but it is not the cause--your low threshold is the cause. Your
threshold is too low to handle your current environment. 

3. Remind yourself that this is a good thing, and means you are about to evolve
to the next level, where many current problems will disappear. 

4. Let it be okay that this is happening. 

5. Watch with curiosity and don't resist.

Isn't life simple?

Well, it is if you follow the above. Or, you can avoid being in situations where
you get pushed past your threshold (good luck). You can stay home, isolate
yourself, do your best to not participate in life, don't take in any new
information, and certainly don't use Holosync. 

Or, you can develop all kinds of ways to blow off steam when the pressure
builds. You can be angry a lot, worry a lot, compulsively talk, or exercise, or
eat, or have sex (or whatever you like to do). Of course, you'll continue to
maintain the same threshold in that case, with the same limitations. And you
already know what that's like.

Awareness is the key

One of the great things about meditating with Holosync audio technology is that
not only does it push your threshold higher, it also gives you the clarity and,
most important, the awareness, to be able to go through the five steps I've
outlined above. As Ken Wilber is fond of saying, "Awareness, in and of itself,
is transformative." 

The reason awareness is transformative is that it allows you to step back and
let this elegant process of chaos and reorganization take its natural course,
without fighting it. And, as people progress in the Holosync Solution program,
awareness increase and the process of change becomes easier and easier.

If your life is anything like mine, your life is one opportunity after another
to master this principle. Decide right now you will master it. After all, you'll
keep getting opportunities, one after another, until you do.

Finally, if you're not in the Holosync Solution program yet, what are you
waiting for? How long do you want to wait to get started in making your life
easier and your suffering smaller?

Be well.

Bill Harris, Director

................................................................................

8. Glowing Testimonials and Letters
 
Bill - I don't believe what has happened since I started using Holosync! Last
year I lost my job of 17 years, and then 5 months later, my new wife left me
because of infidelity, and filed for divorce.  I went through months and months
of hell - sleepless nights, drinking myself silly, support groups, religion,
therapy...you name it...I tried anything to escape the guilt...to the point of
seriously considering how to end it all.  Through a series of unusual
circumstances, I got connected with an ex-Catholic priest who turned me on to
Holosync and Deepak Chopra.  I started with the Prologue....and I began to
change slowly, but deeply.  Not only did I change - I became deeply motivated to
grow, I became more confident, I walked taller...but also my circumstances began
to change miraculously.... my relationship with my ex-wife began to change
incredibly before my eyes. Although the divorce took place, we are closer now
than ever before, she's listening to Holosync, and we're pursuing a dream
together we've both had for years of singing and performing.  We *regularly* see
little miracles bubble up out of the ocean of possibility, and feel like
something completely beyond us is unveiling before our eyes.  Bill, I can't
recommend Holosync enough.  God bless you for what you've shared with us all.
Scott

**

Dear Bill,
I was recommended to try Holosync by a trusted friend a couple of months ago. I
love it and now I'm telling everyone else about it. It goes so wonderfully well
with "The Power of Now" by Eckhart Tolle which I refer to every day. If I am
having trouble sleepng any time, the "Super Longevity" CD is perfect and I drift
off again before it is over. I listen to Dive and Immersion every morning
without fail at any time between 4am and 7am depending on when I wake up.I have
experienced a gentle but dramatic shift. No "side effects' so far, but a
profound sense of peace. Since I have recovered from a critical illness my life
has changed anyway and Holosync is like coming home. Ijust love it so much. When
 Perth Australia offers people to join the inner circle with all the levels,
Iwill be taking it. Iam waiting for funds to come out now for that purpose.
Since I am on a pension, it shows you what I think of your work.

Thanks Bill for your life changing effort to help us all on our little and
precious planet.

With love and best wishes
Marla

**

I signed up for your full program because the effects of my first experiences
with the Awakening Prologue were very profound.  I have had a number of traumas
to the left side of my body, especially around the head and throat.  Over time I
have tended to "tilt" to the right side which dominates in strength and energy
flow.  Each evening and morning I would meditate to just rebalance and be able
to function.  Over time I also found myself less able to cope with upsets in my
life.  I could make mental sense out of it all, but the body/emotions were out
of control. Listening to Holosync IMMEDIATELY helped me to rebalance and to
cope.  Whatever happens next with this work is a blessing and a bonus.	I look
forward to ongoing growth insights and breakthroughs.
 
Wendy
................................................................................

9. Book Review
The Traveler?s Gift
Seven Decisions That Determine Personal Success
By Andy Andrews
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/0785264280/centerpointer-20
 
 
It?s been said that history is the greatest teacher. But often, history is
taught as little more than a series of impersonal political events or actions.
Rarely do we stop to consider that history, for better or worse, is influenced
and created by people not unlike you and me. Yet there does seem to be something
that sets these people apart. What drives people to change history? Where do
they find the courage to step into the unknown? What compels them to move
forward toward their goals when the world seems so uncertain and circumstances
stand in their way?
 
These are not merely questions to be grappled with by notable historical
figures, of course, but by every one of us. 
 
In "The Traveler?s Gift," motivational speaker Andy Andrews takes the reader on
an expedition back in time. The protagonist in Andrew?s story is David Ponder, a
former high-flying executive whose life has taken a definite downward turn.
After losing his lucrative position in a Fortune 500 company, David finds
himself working a minimum wage job, driving a car that barely runs, and faced
with an ultimate crisis: a daughter with a medical problem David and his wife
cannot afford to treat. 
 
Defeated and desperate, David finds himself losing control of his life. And on
one fateful night, he loses control of his car on an icy road, and doesn?t care
whether he survives the crash. His last words as his car careens off the road
are, "Please God! Why me?" And then?nothing.
 
But fate has something unique in store for David Ponder. As he slowly regains
his awareness, he finds himself sitting on a Persian rug in an ornate
high-ceilinged room by a hand-carved desk. "Please get off the floor and sit in
this chair," says the only other person in the room, a small, older gentleman
with clear blue eyes.
 
The man turns out to be Harry Truman and the date July 24th, 1945. 
 
As David wonders aloud whether he is dead or dreaming, Truman attempts to offer
an explanation:
 
"Occasionally, someone is chosen to travel the ages, gathering wisdom for future
generations. It?s as if the Almighty literally reaches down and places His hand
on a shoulder, and in this particular case," the president peered over his
glasses, "it was your shoulder."
 
As their conversation continues, David begins to learn that he is in the
presence of a truly remarkable man. Truman, it seems, had been expecting David?s
arrival. And he was prepared to offer some critical, if not difficult, insight
in response to David?s life situation:
 
"David, we are all in situations of our own choosing. Our thinking creates a
pathway to success or failure. By disclaiming responsibility for our present, we
crush the prospect of an incredible future that might have been ours."
 
"I don?t understand," David said.
 
"I am saying that our outside influences are not responsible for where you are
mentally, physically, spiritually, emotionally, or financially. You have chosen
the pathway to your present destination. The responsibility for your situation
is yours."
 
Understandably, this information was not easy for David to digest. Yet it would
be the first of seven critical lessons David would learn on his extraordinary
journey through time. Among other remarkable teachers David encounters,
Christopher Columbus, King Solomon, and Anne Frank each share moments of their
lives and insights into their attitudes and philosophies that so dramatically
affected history. 
 
Andrews successfully draws the reader through each of these amazing visits with
a unique and effective combination of historical fiction and personal growth.
Though formulaic at times, Andrews is an excellent storyteller. He provides
convincing portrayals of these remarkable individuals and the times in which
they lived. It?s easy to feel the sway of the Santa Maria underfoot as Columbus,
on his way to a discovery the cynics told him would never manifest, tells David,
"I have a decided heart," or to sense something of the fear gripping the Frank
family as Nazi Gestapo agents tapped against the walls of their annex while Anne
and her family sit silent and frozen, waiting for the threat to pass. Little
Anne Frank would ? in the midst of this terrible dread ? remind David to choose
happiness each and every day. 
 
Although Andrews? treatment of the historical figures is compelling, the real
power of the book resides with the principles these figures demonstrate and pass
on to David. The reader is not only advised to ascribe to and apply these ideas,
they are shown how by individuals who have clearly done so. Most Centerpointe
Participants will not be stunned by the originality of these ideas, but they
will recognize that these same principles for success are truly timeless. And
Andrews offers them in a distinctive and appealing way within the context of a
story many will relate to. 
 
As David completes his journey, he finds himself with a second chance at
creating a life worth living. He still faces the same problems and challenges as
before. But equipped with seven powerful decisions for success, and inspired by
the words and lives of some of history?s most remarkable people, David is
prepared and motivated to reclaim his life and fashion it into something
extraordinary.
 
The Traveler?s Gift will inspire your imagination, engage your spirit, and speak
to your heart. Unique, entertaining, and enlightening, The Traveler?s Gift is
highly recommended. 

***If you would like to read more about or order this book click here: 
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0785264280/centerpointer-20 


................................................................................

10. Announcements

Medical study shows Holosync effective in treating anxiety...

In the September 2005 issue of Mind Chatter we included a letter from Dr. David
Laws of Sunderland Royal Hospital in England. The letter was about a study
performed by Dr. Laws, and subsequently accepted for publication by the
respected medical journal Aneastethesia, involving Holosync and its use in
treating pre-surgery anxiety. This study showed that Holosync was extremely
effective in reducing pre-surgery anxiety.

Dr. Laws has sent us this follow-up article about the study and the use of
Holosync in treating anxiety:

You can have too much of a good thing, stress and anxiety included. Having a
healthy fear of danger ensures that we cross the road safely. Successfully
dealing with new or unfamiliar challenges triggers our brain?s reward system and
forms the basis of feeling satisfied. The stress system that responded to the
challenge to create those butterflies in the stomach was merely diverting blood
flow to areas of the body that needed energy more than your digestive system at
that time. In fact, without the nervous system that drives that
only-too-aware-of-my-racing-heartbeat-moment, we wouldn?t be able to sit or
stand up in the morning. 

This so-called ?sympathetic? nervous system can seem anything but sympathetic to
your needs if it goes into overdrive. We?ve all experienced that gut-wrenching
desire to be elsewhere at job interviews or examinations. Our subsequent
performance depends on our ability to put fears into perspective and dampen our
protective mechanisms to a suitably heightened level at times of stress. 

For some, daily events can trigger these crescendos of dread where fear becomes
all-powerful. Chronic anxiety is disabling and such individuals often struggle
to lead fulfilling lives. It can also develop to such an extent that even the
basics of day-to-day living become difficult to cope with. However, controlling
these surges of unwanted nervous activity is more easily said than done and
attempting to fight the fight-flight-fright response often fuels the neural
fire.

However, help is at hand in the form of Holosync. In an article published in
Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine [1], researchers discovered that
audio embedded with sounds that generate binaural beats within the listener
effectively reduced overall anxiety in chronic anxiety sufferers, with anxiety
levels being most reduced immediately after listening. They also determined that
audio rich in delta brainwave entrainment was most beneficial.

As a Consultant Anaesthetist (Anesthesiologist) working in the UK, I was
searching for alternatives to drugs for anxiety reduction in patients about to
undergo a surgical procedure. Heightened anxiety is a common undesirable
occurrence adversely affecting both the anaesthetic and post-operative recovery.
On reading the above article, I was enthused to determine if binaural beat audio
could have the desired effect in patients at our hospital. Further reading led
me to choose Holosync, which is rich in delta entrainment. Bill Harris was kind
(and confident) enough to provide the audio tracks to allow me to conduct a
?blinded prospective randomised controlled? trial (deemed a scientifically
rigorous approach). The results were impressive and consistent with the previous
study in that subjective acute anxiety levels were approximately halved in
patients who listened to thirty minutes of Holosync prior to surgery. The study
manuscript is now published in Anaesthesia [2], a peer-reviewed medical journal
(Blackwell Publishing).

Why binaural beat audio works in this situation is unclear, but is probably
related to the ability of the binaural beat to resonate throughout the brain and
overcome the low amplitude high frequency brain waves associated with extreme
anxiety.

So, in summary, there is an emerging evidence-base to support using Holosync in
anxiety-producing situations be they acute or chronic. I hope to be conducting
further studies in this area and will keep you informed of my findings.

Dr David Laws, Sunderland Royal Hospital, England, UK

[1] Le Scouarnec RP, Poirier RM, Owens JE, Gauthier J, Taylor AG, Foresman PA.
Use of binaural beat tapes for treatment of anxiety: a pilot study of tape
preference and outcomes. Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine 2001; 7:
58-63

[2] Padmanabhan R, Hildreth AJ, Laws D. A prospective, randomised, controlled
study examining binaural beat audio and pre-operative anxiety in patients
undergoing general anaesthesia for day case surgery. Anaesthesia. 2005
Sep;60(9):874-7.
Anxiety and Holosync

**

First East Coast Retreat a Success!
In fact, to say it was a success is an understatement. It was a HUGE success.
Breakthroughs were happening so fast we couldn't count them.

Really. People's lives WERE changed. (See below for some comments from those who
attended this and previous retreats.)

The dates for Centerpointe's Spring Retreat, at The Omega Institute at the
Crossings in Austin, Texas, are April 9-15, 2006.

If you have a big issue you'd like to resolve, if you're in a transition period
in your life and you just can't seem to complete it, or if you just want to take
things to a higher level--one where you understand more completely how you're
creating your life--please, do yourself a favor and come spend a week with me at
The Crossings.

I promise that you'll have an incredible experience you'll never forget.

I tell people they'll receive six months of growth in just 5 days at these
retreats, but they keep improving every time, and people now tell me they're
received much more than that.

I tailor each retreat to the needs of the specific people who attend (which
means YOU). My goal is to help you see the ways you may be unconsciously and
unintentionally creating your internal and external reality, and how easy it
actually is to consciously and intentionally create the life you want, both
inside and out.

This is your chance to make a big change, and to work with me personally.

So click on this link for more information: 
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
www.centerpointe.com/retreats 
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

And, I guarantee results! Here's the guarantee: Attend the entire retreat. If by
the end of the retreat you don't think it was the most incredible growth
experience you've ever had, just see me before you leave, and I'll refund your
tuition.

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.)

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

Or, you can call retreat coordinator Katie Sparks at 503-906-6027 to learn more
about Centerpointe's retreats.

As I watched and listened during my experience, I sensed throughout that I was 
safe and that I could go deeper and deeper because of the love and confidence 
and strength I felt around me.  Without that, I probably could not have 
released, what I believe to have been major life time blockages.  Although 
I have been able to create so much happiness in my life, I was always aware 
that something was blocked and I did not have a clue how to access it. 
Something very big happened to me and I am still processing it.
-Dori

The greatest benefit I got from the retreat was an atmosphere of safety...it 
is a place to grow and stretch in complete safety.
-Don

My expectations were exceeded because I got not just tools but a personal 
transformative experiential shift in my body.
-Carey

=//=