Over the past century, many exciting technologies and new areas of study have emerged. Foremost among them is the intriguing science of neurofeedback. Using microcomputer-based brainwave analyzers and complex biofeedback systems, many researchers are working to make their names at the forefront of this field.
One of these leaders, Dr. James V. Hardt, has spent over 40 years building his expertise on the electrophysiological basis of advanced mental and spiritual states. He has authored several publications on human consciousness, holds a number of patents, and studies the brainwaves of people across the full spectrum of human consciousness – from Yogis and Zen Masters to thought leaders like Tony Robbins, as well as high-powered executives, elite soldiers, and world-class athletes.
In a recent interview with Doug Holt, he answers some questions about his life and career.
Can you explain what a Biocybernaut does?
I’m fond of saying that a Biocybernaut is to “inner space” what an astronaut is to outer space. If we deconstruct the word bio-cyber-naut; naut is a Greek suffix, which implies someone who goes on an adventure. The first that I know of was the Greek hero Jason and his Argonauts, who went off on incredible and intense adventures to obtain the Golden Fleece.
How do they do that? Well, that’s where cyber comes in. It’s both an archaic word indicating a pilot or ‘steersman’ and related to the more modern concept of “cybernetics”, which governs the communications and interactions between humans and machines.
Finally, bio is short for “biology”, the science of life itself. We use the calculating computer technology to process biological signals from the brain and other physiological systems to go on an amazing journey of self-discovery and self-transcendence.
Thus, a Biocybernaut goes on adventures through inner space.
What do the brainwave analyzer and biofeedback system try to achieve?
In 1978, I produced and published papers on the first micro-computerized brainwave feedback and analyzer system. To do this work, you must first acquire the brainwaves. At the scalp’s surface, they’re very tiny signals, just a few millionths of a volt. So you need powerful amplifiers. At Biocybernaut, we boost the brainwaves by a factor of 100,000. And then we analyze them.
Consider how a shaft of sunlight passing through a prism is broken down into a spectrum. The visible spectrum for humans runs from red through violet. The prism breaks down the white light into each of its component colors. Brainwaves are like that shaft of sunlight. There are an amazing variety of frequencies that are generated in the brain, at different wavelengths and amplitudes. In this analogy, the color red would be like Delta waves, orange would be like Theta, green like Alpha, blue like Beta, and violet like Gamma. Once you break down the raw EEG (electroencephalogram), or the white light, into its component spectrum of frequency bands, then you can measure how much energy is in each one.
And once you can measure your brainwaves, you can begin to train them through neurofeedback.
What would you say makes the Biocybernaut neurofeedback training programs so uniquely valuable?
Well, I’d say it’s both the short-term and long-term changes we see in our trainees. We base the effectiveness of our training programs on three pillars – the accuracy, the immediacy, and the reasonably pleasing aesthetic of the feedback. Demanding that we meet these three standards allows us to surpass the results of all others if you look at the published scientific studies on this training’s efficacy.
What is one big thing that Biocybernaut’s neurofeedback training can help with, that many people are aware of?
I was writing a proposal maybe ten years ago and talking about anxiety. At that time, the four top anti-anxiety drugs had a market of half a billion dollars; that’s just the top four. Since then, I’m sure that the market has grown and expanded as people have been stressed in so many additional ways.
Alpha brainwave production is like a silver bullet against anxiety. Way back in 1978, I published a paper in Science, along with the weekly British journal Nature. In it, I demonstrated research findings, which underwent very strict peer review, that increases in Alpha would reduce both ‘state’ and ‘trait’ anxiety in highly-anxious people. To clarify, ‘state’ anxiety is short-term and situational, where ‘trait’ anxiety is long-term and chronic. Both of these were profoundly reduced by the Biocybernaut Alpha Training.
What was the biggest obstacle you faced? And how did you overcome it?
The primary obstacle was just the technological innovations that I needed to make. Neurofeedback is still such a new science. Certain things must simply be invented first, then improved upon before real progress can be made.
For example, I knew that I needed the best brainwave filters in the world to ensure accurate and immediate results. Without that, effective feedback is impossible. So I explored it.
Do the Biocybernaut training programs require ongoing training?
No…but can you benefit from additional training? Absolutely! For the Alpha and Theta Training series, we have 24 different levels, and for Delta Training, we have 18 levels. Delta training is available by invitation only, once a certain threshold of Alpha and Theta Training has been completed.
Are you planning on expanding the training programs?
Well, we have a technology in our R&D Labs, which we internally refer to as The Dream System. And this will allow, for example, having WAV files as the feedback. Instead of synthesizing flutes and oboes, we can actually have precisely-constructed WAV files that represent the purest expression of each one of our feedback instruments.
In addition, and probably most significantly, The Dream System will allow us to study and train highly complex brainwave patterns involving coherence between different sites in the brain. One of these is the Halo pattern, which I’ve discovered in both Zen Masters and highly advanced mathematicians. It’s profoundly fascinating.
You can reach Dr. Hardt at 855-798-3814 for more information, or visit www.biocybernaut.com.
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