by Jennifer McCartney
Did you know the secret to happiness, wealth and success might be between your ears? Clinical hypnotherapist and licensed Master Practitioner of Neuro-Linguistic Programming, Jeffrey Gignac, joined Tammy Mastroberte, founder of Elevated Existence during the “Living an Elevated Existence Mind, Body & Soul Summit Season 2,” to explain how the new science of happiness and productivity starts with the brain.
Gignac, a world-renowned expert in brainwave entrainment and brainwave stimulation, and the creator of nearly 100 meditation and brainwave programs told listeners how they can become happier and smarter in just seven minutes using proven techniques that increase the blood flow to their brain, and can actually re-wire it. He also shared how its possible to double, even triple, a person’s weekly productivity with just a few easy steps.
His work and the programs he creates are all about brain fitness—rewiring the brain to create new pathways resulting in new thoughts, behaviors and actions. He pointed to research showing that brainwave activity is remarkably consistent from one person to the next when they are under any type of stress.
“When we’re all stressed and frustrated” our brain activity takes on a particular pattern,” he shared, explaining on a scan we could actually see blood stuck in one area rather than flowing through to others. To do the “internal math” required of us daily, (processing language, etc.) we need blood flow to the brain and Gignac has studied and teaches techniques, including brainwave stimulation, using video and audio that encourage this blood flow and create the results people are looking for—whether it’s happiness, relaxation, a good night’s sleep or more productivity. Additionally, “things like nervousness and stress restrict blood flow in the brain….so using brainwave stimulation, we can push this blood flow back into the brain.” Once the blood is flowing, we’ll immediately notice the results.
So, it’s one thing to know when we’re stressed or nervous our brain isn’t getting the proper blood flow it needs. But what to do about it? “The biggest challenge in our lives isn’t making ourselves smarter but just using what we have,” he told listeners. “The benefits [of brainwave stimulation] are very similar to that what happens when you exercise a muscle. You get increased blood flow, increased activity…it improves the neuro-connectivity between various regions to the brain, closing communication gaps.”
Long term, the benefits of brainwave stimulation, or brain exercise, are numerous, he said. In addition to stress relief, there’s also “the ability to simply process the world differently on a differently level faster and better over time…[and] the ability to side step negativity over time.” Instead of getting stuck in traditional thinking patterns, where our blood flow is stagnant, we can sidestep those patterns. It also helps with our concentration, making us less susceptible to distraction, he said.
“This is not about increasing your physical intelligence,” he said. However, one of the long terms benefits is the increase of neural pathways, so over time, “it makes it more likely for you to think with greater clarity.”
To begin to identify our own brain patterns, Gignac advised us to take an emotional inventory—figure out our weak spots, strong spots, when we’re happy, etc. The idea is to “change the way the electricity and blood flow moves in your brain so that you break these patterns. It’s one of the simplest and easy ways to improve you happiness and productivity in your life,” he shared.
And it’s more than just reducing stress or increasing productivity. Increased blood flow to the brain can help strengthen different muscle groups, which can affect nearly every aspect of our daily lives—from happiness levels to libido, and encouraging better sleep to increasing the amount of energy we feel during the day.
Using brainwave stimulation, and neuro linguistic programming, Gignac says its about incremental steps toward change. “If we try to do these really, really big chunks it can actually demotivate us,” he said. “We’re not telling people, ‘you will change now’…It’s more guidance, not a pushy type of guidance.”
For more from Gignac and the other 25 experts in mind, body and spirit topics, and to gain access to their free gifts and special offers, sign up FREE to Season 2 of the Living an Elevated Existence Summit!