The Book Stacks

Review by Mr. JM

States of Mind as measured by brain waves are a fascinating area to get into. James Hardt opens new areas in his book The Art of Smart Thinking (TAST) as he brings out his explorations into what is possible using biofeedback.

I first started delving into the various brainwave levels using a technology called Brainwave Entrainment. The brain has an unusual feature; when it hears a tone in one ear and a slightly different tone in the other, it will add them both to produce a stereo effect that’s actually unheard by either ear. Somewhere in the brain, the two tones produce a ‘beat’ that is the difference between the two tones.

If the beat is at the range of the natural brainwaves, the brain can become ‘entrained’ or sort of go into sympathetic rhythm with the beat. After a short period (about 7 minutes) it begins to follow along with the beat and can enter the state of mind associated with that beat. So using brainwave entrainment, we can enter (say) deep meditation (low Theta) more easily than simply trying to mediate into that level of trance.

If the beats fall into the Alpha range, it can provide an enhanced learning or creative frame of mind. If we use a Delta beat, we can slip quickly into deep sleep and get more real rest in a couple of hours than we would in a normal night of sleep.

But in Brainwave Entrainment, the mind is being led. It’s like an hypnosis, leading the brain into states but not actually teaching us to achieve those states voluntarily. Biofeedback offers a new level of access to these states of mind. With biofeedback, we can learn to initiate the chosen brainwave state without the external stimulus.

Biofeedback has been used to help with physical complaints like Reynard’s disease. Hardt explains this and some of the more general uses to which the technology has been applied. Most people would have heard that, using biofeedback, a person can learn to relax, and perhaps also about slowing heartbeat.

According to Hardt, any body function for which we can get an immediate physical feedback can be controlled by conscious will. Where he goes further is to claim in TAST, and provide background information for, the use of biofeedback to provide changes in mental states.

These include, but are not limited to, changes in self image, in relationships, in happiness, in creativity and in spirituality.

Review by Mr. JM

For a long time I have been interested in the potential of the human mind. In the 80’s I read about biofeedback and the possibilities were extremely interesting. It seemed normal people could learn some of the things formerly attributed solely to gurus and mystics who had studied and trained for decades to learn control of self.

The cover of The Art of Smart Thinking (TAST) says ‘Give Yourself a Brain Lift’ ‘Reverse Brain Aging’ ‘Enhance Creativity’ and ‘Increase IQ.’ Big claims to make and I was interested to see if the book could substantiate them.

The beginning is (probably necessarily) mostly history of how Hardt came to his current ideas and procedures; interesting but in parts, it was annoying. The book needs better editing; in a number of places, not only phrases, but sometimes entire sentences are repeated within a few lines of each other.

Another slight hitch in reading is there are signs that Hardt wrote some and someone else wrote parts that have been merged in. There are references to Hardt in the third person.

But the content kept me reading. The information being presented made for a forgiving attitude as I followed along with learning what Biofeedback could do.

The brain can be monitored for electric fields; this has been known for a long time. Over the decades the fields have been measured and named. Starting from the highest frequencies, they are Gamma, (above 40Hz) Beta, (15 – 40Hz) Alpha, (9 – 14Hz) Theta (5 – 8Hz) and Delta (0 – 4Hz). These are approximate figures.

Mostly while awake, we run on Beta and during meditation or sleep, we may drop to Theta or Delta. Alpha level is an unusual range. A person who has completed a task and relaxes may show Alpha waves. So may someone involved in creative thought.

In deep meditation, we show Theta waves in the scans, indicating the brain has slowed or changed to a different state of being. The states of being seem to show different capacities and functions for those experiencing them.

And sometimes different states are necessary. In deepest sleep we show Delta waves, and if we go too long without achieving deep sleep we experience health problems ranging from tiredness and disorientation through to (if kept going to long) states that might be seen as insanity.

So exploration of, and achieving the various states of mind can be beneficial on a number of levels and pursuing such achievement would seem to be worthwhile for personal growth.

I wrote my first novel with two other women, one being my sister, author Nancy Bush. That book was never sold. It was 1981. I remember there were rejection letters saying it had too much suspense in it. Ironic, I think, considering the path my career has taken.

So, when I did first get published, I wrote romance novels for Silhouette Books. Suspense was a no-no. I was told to take it out, out, OUT! Well . . . a little suspense always slipped in because I’m a suspense/mystery reader. I cut my teeth on Nancy Drew and The Black Stallion mysteries. LOVED them. Suspense came naturally

Isn’t that great. Once romantic suspense came into reading vogue again, I was all over it. Believe you me. I think it is what I was always meant to eventually write—suspense, thrillers, romantic suspense, whatever description suits doesn’t worry me. It just makes me happy writing it. I didn’t get to just leap in, of course. I studied the market. I considered the books that were being written and most of the time I thought the women authors covered the romance part of the equation pretty well, but I still wanted more straight suspense.

The reverse was true for the male writers. They left me wanting more about their characters’ relationship—ok, ok more romance. This is a pretty broad statement, and I found exceptions to my rule, of course, but my own desires as a reader ended up being what led the opportunity to write what I wanted and to bring readers something different.

I saw a path and I jumped onto it with both feet and at a dead run. I was finally able to write the kind of stories I like to read, complete with….you guessed it, HOT SEX AND COLD DEATH!

I haven’t left any of that behind, but I do have to say that my new book LOST SOULS is a bit of a departure for me. It’s got this whole vampire theme added in—are they real? are they not?—going along with a cult and some paranormal elements to heighten the thriller aspect of the books.

There’s a touch of the paranormal, too. I do love paranormal elements. Things like ESP and seeing someone die before your eyes—which actually is the paranormal element in LOST SOULS. When my character Kristi Bentz sees a person drain of color before her eyes she knows they are going to die.

Part of the excitement of writing thrillers is, for me, taking a germ of an idea and messing around with it. Think about it this way and that way, try to put a new spin on it. That’s when I start scratching notes. At this point, I always come up with the twist at the end.

I want to lead my readers on a breathless journey, but I want it be a puzzle for them, too…have them thinking of one thing when BAM!, out of left field (or right), the story turns on its ear and spins in a new direction. The “Oh, gees, I didn’t see that coming” moment.

Part of the thriller, I think, is the puzzle. “Who’s doing this and why?” The twist is the final chance for me, as the author, to say “Gotcha!” to my readers.

I’m addicted, that’s for sure, and very happy to keep on killing for the time being.

Don’t forget to play the Monday game for your chance to win!

Hello everyone!

Another crazy week full of anniversary fun, volunteering, road trips, and a lot of coffee. Maybe it only makes sense that I’m not having an easy time sleeping. My brain just can’t seem to shut off.

I have a lot more books on the way, so my to be read list will expand once more. (Like it really needed to, right?) Hopefully some of the newer additions will be things you are reading and we can have a bit of a discussion about them.

Remember to play the Monday game for your chance to win! (And get an Aussie postcard.)

If you would like to try your hand at reviewing, please feel free to contact me using the contact me button under the site description on the right. I’m more than happy to put up guest reviews. I’m also thinking of a best book review contest, but it’s just an idea floating around in my brain at this point.

Reading:
Savage Survival – Darrell Bain
Supernatural – Graham Hancock
Lost Souls – Lisa Jackson
In Bad Dreams – Horror Anthology – Edited by Mark Deniz and Sharyn Lilley
Xenocide - Orson Scott Card

Going to Read:
Sabriel – Garth Nix
Neutron Star – Short story collection – Larry Niven
Firebirds – Fantasy/Sci-fi Anthology – Edited by Sharyn November
The Lab – Jack Heath
Remote Control – Jack Heath
The Foreshadowing – Marcus Sedgwick
The Jaguar Legacy – Maureen Fisher
Target: Caught in the Crosshairs of Bill and Hilary Clinton – Kathleen Willey
To Truckee’s Trail – Celia Hayes
The Redemption of Althalus – David and Leigh Eddings
The Serpent Bride – Sara Douglass
Loving the Goddess Within – Nan Hawthorne
Bad Girls Club – Judy Gregerson
Marwan: The Autobiography of a 9/11 Terrorist – Aram Schefrin

Upcoming Reviews:

So what’s on your list?

Welcome to this week’s A Book By Any Other Name! Today is my first wedding anniversary, so I’m doing something a little different…

The game works like this: Each week I will choose a word and offer a few titles that I’ve come up with containing that word in the title. Then it’s your turn to come up with book titles containing the same word, without duplication (yes, that includes my titles.) I would also like the author, but that is just so I can find the book if I want to read it.

The current challenge: I challenge you all to reach 32 titles containing the weekly word by midnight Friday, (with no more than 10 titles commented per person and not including *my* titles in the total.)

My forfeit? For this challenge I’d like to do a little something different that will hopefully have the both of us smiling. If you all work together and reach the goal, I will send each of you who participate a post card.

Out of the people who participate, one commenter will receive the book “No One Cares What You Had for Lunch: 100 Ideas for Your Blog by Margaret Mason.

Whoo-hoo right? Right! For those of you who don’t know, I live in Australia so you will be getting a postcard featuring the lovely, lovely city of Melbourne. (If you’re willing to give me your postal address, which I promise to delete as soon as I write it on the postcard.) And like I said, one of you will receive the very cool blog idea book (if you reach goal).

So if you’d like a post card, join in!

If you don’t reach the goal, we’ll try again next week. If you reach the goal, I’ll have a brand new challenge for you next Monday where you’ll get another chance.

(If you’re feeling pouty about the ten titles per person limit, why not get a friend to come and comment as well? The more, the merrier.)

The word this week is:

Anniversary

I Say: Wedding Anniversaries: From Paper to Diamond by Cookie Lee

You Say…

Interested in reviewing books on your blog? Would you like to interview authors?

We are seeking qualified bloggers who would like to become tour hosts for our clients. If you are a blogger who would be interested in either interviewing our authors, letting them guest post on your blog or would be willing to review their book and posting their review on your blog (or any other type of promotion) on a certain day that both you and we set up together, we would be interested in talking to you.

We are only looking for blogs who receive substantial traffic and are updated frequently.

All our tour hosts receive a link on our sponsors’ page (if you prefer hosting your banner, that’s fine, too), links on our in house blogs, and will receive copies of books where applicable for their time and effort in hosting our authors. You will also receive substantial traffic on your blog while the author is touring as we highly publicize each and every one of our tour stops.

We also spotlight our tour hosts at random in our monthly newsletter. All tour host spotlights will include blog information and an interview with the blog host as part of their feature in the newsletter. More added exposure! And…not only that…we will include your link on this page so that others can see what an outstanding blog you have.

If you are interested, you can visit Virtual Book Tours for Authors, look in the right hand sidebar for the list of authors touring, and let us know which author you would prefer to host.

Once you have decided which author you would like to host, copy and paste the below information into an email and send it to us at thewriterslife(at)yahoo.com. Please put “I Want to Be a Tour Host” in the subject line of your email.

In Bad Dreams [Horror Anthology]
Volume One: Where Real Life Awaits
Edited by Mark S. Deniz and Sharyn Lilley

Front by Miles Deacon

Nothing pun-like intended here, but the first thing I definitely noticed about this story is the beginning. Not a lot of authors begin their stories on the latrine of all things, but Deacon does a good job in using this tool to capture your attention.

Front is a fast paced like a short story should be, packed with information and a ‘full’ world despite the shorter length, but it doesn’t feel rushed. Deacon does an excellent job of giving you a full, satisfied feeling (or horror) that is the mark of a truly good short story writer.

John’s behavior with dog tags curious after a while and it wasn’t long before I was wondering about their significance. The symbolism of the dog tag in war times hasn’t been lost on many authors, so I had a lot of possibilities to choose from. That in combination with the mystery deaths of the men kept me reading on without pause.

If you don’t like stories where you don’t get to know the ‘why’ of everything, then you might not like this story so much… Yet, I am someone who likes to know the ‘why’ of things, but that didn’t stop me from enjoying this story immensely.

If this first story in this short story collection is setting the bar for quality of horror, then I know I am going to enjoy every moment of the rest of this book.

I was going to say, “If I Had More of the Green Stuff” but money here in Australia is like monopoly money. Colours! A bunch of wonderful colours! The first thing that gets close to green is a ten - and that’s still primarily blue. A 100 is green, but I have only ever seen one.

Enough about that. Everyone needs a wish list. It keeps us working hard so we can buy our occasional indulgences. At least, that’s what I tell myself…

1. The Second Post Secret Book
2. Son of a Witch by Gregory Maguire
3. Blindsided by a Diaper: Over 30 Men and Women Reveal How Parenthood Changes a Relationship
4. Families and How to Survive Them by Robin Skynner and John Cleese
5. Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
6. The Tamarack Tree by Patricia Clapp
7. Story by Robert McKee
8. Green Rider by Kristen Britain
9. First Rider’s Call by Kristen Britain
10. The High King’s Tomb by Kristen Britain
11. World Building (Science Fiction Writing) by Stephen Gillett and Ben Bova
12. Giants, Monsters, and Dragons: An Encyclopedia of Folklore, Legend, and Myth by Carol Rose
13. 1000 Journals Project by Someguy (Author), Kevin Kelly (Foreword)

What books would YOU get?

Check out my other Thursday Thirteens on Write Anyway, Fiction Scribe, and Long Relationships