The Garden has become An Open Mind Counseling and Neuro-Balancing

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Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Can you tune my piano

A year ago I had a wonderful young autistic boy affectionately refer to me as the Bong Bong Doc.  I'll take that though I am not a Doctor, being able to see rapid and lasting change come to my clients is a real treat.

Four months ago I received a call from a young women asking if it was real.  "Does this really help with PTSD?  Will it help my boyfriend?" she asked.  She went on to describe to me a young man mid twenties who had served our country in Iraq and returned home angry, unable to focus, insomnia suffering, and plagued with persistent nightmares.  She was hopeful, maybe desperate.

I discussed with her the way that the brain is much like a grand piano with octaves (lobes) and frequencies (notes) ranging from very low to high.  I explained to her how (like that piano) time, use, and trauma can throw it out of tune.  We talked about the science of neuroplasticity and the remarkable way that the brain transitions itself from event to event throughout our lives adjusting to the myriad situations that it encounters, and that if those events are overwhelming enough, or long term enough, the brain will establish very strong patterns.

We talked about the piano I have at home.  It was my grandmothers before I bought it from her.  We had it inspected before buying it and it was found to be in good repair and relatively in tune for the number of years it had been without service.  We moved it from her house to ours down the several stairs leading to the street into my still and bouncy trailer.  Then we we moved it into our home and the only place for it was in direct line of the door.  Needless to say, shock of moving the instrument, the winter cold blasts, my daughters very active playing, and subsequent second move have left this piano with sticky keys and a very out of tune series of frequencies.

When I was able to meet this young man with PTSD and we did a brain mapping, his frequencies and lobes were very much out of tune.  He told me that he had done numerous treatments modalities with the V.A. and none seemed to fully help.  He was talking a serious medication to assist in his sleep, but he stated it knocked him out, but he did not feel he slept. The effects of fighting in a war had left him out of tune and unable to function.

Our sessions went great.  By mid way through his girlfriend stated they did not fight anymore and she noticed a much more relaxed and mellow manner about him.  By the end of our week together he slept through the night and was not in need of his medication to do so.

I spoke with this young man last night, and his girlfriend this morning.  He is doing GREAT.  After having to drop out of school last semester, he is attending classes and doing well.  He reports he still sleeps through the night and that his emotions are in order. His "piano" was out of tune from the prolonged heightened alert and repeated assaults he endured during his time in service.  The harmony and balance of the mental orchestra was lost and the result of this was increased anxiety, anger, and loss of the ability to sleep.  Nothing he had tried for the six years since returning had done any good to alleviate the distress.

I could go on.  Several bi-polar clients, numerous for depression, all sleeping better and functioning clearer than ever before.  Even as I type this I am working with a client that has embraced the idea of a regular "tune-up".  She has overcome numerous issues in her life and is excelling more at work, at home, and physically.  A recent surgery (trauma) has left her feeling out of tune.  A moment ago, she mentioned how amazing it is that the brain can be so resilient and responsive.  She has been visualizing the surgery and it lingering effects leaving her body as the harmonizing tones being delivered to her ears soothes and balances the brains functions and frequencies.

So often the question I get is, "will it work for me?" or "I have not been to war, what traumas have I endured?"  I simply reflect that while many are without the devastating insults brought on by abuse, war, and accidents, we are all like that piano and over time become out of tune.  Life has a way of working us over.  Stress in relationships, the loss of friends and family members, and just the day to day grind can make some of our octaves go flat.  Maybe we have a sticky key, a the pads on the strikers have warn thin and we tend to hit a bit sharp.  Most of us have at one time or another been to an orchestra concert and heard "the warm-up song".  everyone playing in disarray warming and tuning their instrument.  A finely tunes masterpiece of a cello or violin will still need to be honed in from time to time, and then before they ever strike a unified note, the orchestra tune their instruments to one another so that there is beautiful harmony and balance.  I can assure your that each of those instruments is meticulously cared for and lovingly nurtured by its owner.  Unlike our brain that is often forgotten yet sits at the center of all of our daily functions and regulations.  So, how do I answer that question, "will it work for me?".  I say is your brain any less vital than the 3rd violin of the orchestra?  It drives and controls everything we do.  It regulated our base functions of heart rate, blood pressure  breathing, bowel function.  Of course it will work for you, and even though you may not have been to war like the young man that started this whole piece, we have all been bounced down the stairs, haul in the trailer a few times, and battered by a few bitter cold winds from time to to.

To help with the understanding of this whole process and how it works I have loaded our webpage with information, videos, and opportunities to receive regular informational newsletters, and a personalized information packet just for you.  Go to www.anopenmindnb.com .  When you are ready to feel what a balanced and harmonized life is like, contact us for a brainwave mapping assessment and mini mental "massage".

Your piano man,
the Bong Bong Doc, Brett

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