Thread by @CraigZengar

Zengar® ---> NeurOptimal®
In the 1970's Valdeane W. Brown, PhD (Val) had a vision of what brain Training could become and that everyone would have access to their own information and enjoy the opportunity for Personal Transformation through the use of it. 1/

In 1996, Susan Cheshire Brown, PhD (Sue), met Val and and they began their amazing, iterative and collaborative journey over the years and created the company - Zengar® that has ultimately transformed the vision into the reality of their amazing journey - NeurOptimal®. 2/

Credits:
Valdeane W. Brown, PhD and Susan Cheshire Brown, PhD (Sue) - Co-Founders of Zengar® and Co-Creators of NeurOptimal® - neuroptimal.com/store/
Image Artwork: Hector Ortega - Hector J. Ortega, hector2ortega.com
Image Concept: Craig Walker 3/

NeurOptimal® and the Yoga Sutra of Pantanjali
Valdeane W. Brown, PhD: “NeurOptimal® works to release the ripples or disturbances of consciousness to reunify - which is also the core of the Buddhist message of returning back to basic awareness. 4/

To be clear, I understand NeurOptimal® to be a literal incarnation of the opening sentence of the Yoga Sutra of Pantajali: "yogaś-nirodha-citta-vritti". 5/

Various translations exist-the gist of them all is: "unify consciousness through releasing the disturbances in consciousness". This is precisely what NeurOptimal facilitates.”
Yogaś - re-unification, re-integrating
Nirodha - releasing
Citta - consciousness
Vritti - rippling 6/

Additional image inspirition: @Belleruth Krepon Naparstek: “Becoming calm and still, like a lake with no ripples.”

Synchronization Through Chaos 7/

There are 4 distinct control procedures of Nonlinear Dynamical Systems that all processes will fall into: Extrinsic Constraints, Chaotic Perturbation, Entrain and Migrate, and Synchronization through Chaos and NeurOptimal® is the only brain Training system which uses it. 8/

There are many examples of Synchronization Through Chaos that can easily be found in nature:
* The murmuration of starlings as they swarm.
* Fish swimming in schools.
* Pendulum clocks that come into sync when placed near each other or on the same wall. 9/

* The complex dance that NeurOptimalⓇ offers in response to the brain’s electrical activity during Training.
Synchronization Through Chaos”
Valdeane W. Brown, PhD - Co-Founder of Zengar® and Co-Developer of NeurOptimal® 10/

"It is so very easy to slip into believing that NeurOptimal® (NO) is or should be a form of treatment. 11/

This would mean, among other things, that we can predict how Training will go, what are the likely outcomes, how "well it works" compared to other treatments, etc., etc., etc. This temptation is made all the more easily accessed when clients, significant others or parents… 12/

…"really want to know" what they should do to "fix the problem" or, if it can't be "fixed" then to "make it better", "less of a problem" etc., etc., etc. These kinds of concerns, understandable as they are, are just other forms of believing that NO is a treatment; and NO… 13/

…is definitely not a treatment nor part of a treatment, even when included AS IF it were by licensed healthcare provider as part of a comprehensive approach for which they are appropriately trained, licensed and experienced. 14/

This is the case regardless of what "presents" to the Trainer or, to say it another way, it really makes absolutely no difference whatsoever "what walks in the door" in terms of outcomes/results of NO Training. 15/

Each person is unique and each person's response will be their own regardless of how similar or different it might seem from others, even those who present to the Trainer "in the same way". 16/

That having been said, the first thing you can do is: breathe out fully and then let the universe fill your lungs. Then do it again: really relax. Let go of the anxiety that you've "adopted" in this instance. 17/

The calmer you are, the more you allow yourself to "return to present", the calmer and clearer your Client and those parents will become. 18/

This is "Synchronization Through Chaos" and either they will synchronize to you -- returning to calm with each breath -- or you will synchronize to them and their quite understandable anxiety. 19/

I suspect strongly that connected Training will only be beneficial, perhaps not in ways that most concern them right now, but in ways that will none the less, be supportive of the greatest recovery possible for this Client. 20/

Sleep will very likely improve, as will focus, cognitive functioning, etc.; however, it will not be a linear process. 21/

And this means, among other things, that there will be times that appear to be "setbacks": i.e. times when some or all of the presentation will "get worse", perhaps "worse than it's ever (seemed to have) been". 22/

This is part of the overall process of a nonlinear, dynamical system like the CNS regaining access to its intrinsic healthy chaos, restoring its resilience and flexibility.
I hope that this has been helpful." ~ Val

#ProTips on how to talk about NeurOptimal®. 🙂 23/

1. How to pronounce NeurOptimal®: Neur Optimal (no double “o”).
2. Be careful in using the terms “neuroplasticity,” or “neurological pathways” as there is no direct data in support of, or contraindicating the use of NeurOptimal® in this regard. 24/

3. NeurOptimal® only provides information to the brain about its own electrical activity. It does this by measuring your brain’s electrical activity at the scalp, through the sensors and the zAmp (one way measurement only and nothing is input into the brain). 25/

It is Training, it is not treatment. 26/

4. The signal is amplified (brain electrical activity is measured in microvolts), converted from analog to digital via the zAmp and a first pass at the proprietary inline adaptive denoising by attenuating the powerful electrical mains current - 110-120 volts, 60 Hz in… 27/

…Canada and the USA, 220 to 240 volts, 50 Hz in other international locations. 28/

5. The information is then processed by the mathematical algorithms that are unique to NeurOptimal® - Joint Time-Frequency Analysis - JTFA and Nonlinear Dynamical System - NDS - Control Processes - which “speak” the language of the brain/CNS in terms of perception and… 29/

…memory and involves information processing. 30/

6. EEG is not a sine wave, it is a 4-Dimensional phasor and NeurOptimal® uses a corresponding 4-Dimensional process in providing feedback in the form of interruptions in the audio stream by measuring the Duration, Intensity, Frequency and Shifts (DIFS) noticed within the… 31/

…signal. NeurOptimal® does not Train states and brains don’t “wave.” 32/

7. “Flutter” (think of the flutter of a hummingbird as it is about to change position) noticed in the electrical signal of the brain by NeurOptimal® precedes the initiation of a change in phase-state and can trigger an interruption in the audio stream. 33/

8. Sidebar: “Flutter” is neither good nor bad and NeurOptimal® does not seek to minimize it. 34/

Also, “Flutter” precedes a change in the phase-state in all Nonlinear Dynamical Systems and the brain is a Nonlinear Dynamical System that is self-organizing based on information value. 35/

9. The brain then notices the interrupt as a difference in the information provided to it (pause or interrupt in the audio) that is in response to its own electrical activity (offering the orienting response to the brain). 36/

This allows it to make a decision on whether to continue the phase-state change or re-organize back to the previous state. 37/

10. The brain/CNS is the most marvelous Nonlinear Dynamical System in the known universe and processes information from both the internal environment and the external environment constantly and responds to that information in order to minimize discomfort. 38/

11. So, NeurOptimal® acts like a “mirror” to the brain and gives it the choice to do what it does best. 39/

12. If this response to the potential phase-state change leads to a decrease in overall discomfort to the brain, it will continue to use that comprehensive behavioral repertoire. 40/

13. There are 4 distinct control procedures of Nonlinear Dynamical Systems that all processes will fall into: Extrinsic Constraints, Chaotic Perturbation, Entrain and Migrate, and Synchronization through Chaos - which is what NeurOptimal® uses and is defined above. 41/

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