Brain Research Institute Promotes Total Brain Functioning

Alarik Arenander, Ph.D., director of the Institute’s Brain Research Institute and an Iowa representative of the U.S. Peace Government, continues his cutting-edge research on total brain functioning and his successful series of nationwide presentations on this theme.

Last year, Dr. Arenander analyzed brain imaging data to create the first-ever 3-D color movies of changing electromagnetic fields in the brains of subjects experiencing “transcendental consciousness”—an experience leading to what many ancient traditions call “enlightenment.”

Changing electromagnetic fields in the brain of a subject experiencing “transcendental consciousness.” Center: a single frame from a computer-generated, 3-D color movie (top-down view) showing the brain’s electromagnetic activity patterns (in blue) during the experience of the Transcendental Meditation technique. Lower right: A top-down view showing the distribution of magnetic potentials across the brain during meditation (see scale on left).

Later that year, in collaboration with Dr. Fred Travis, he coauthored a groundbreaking paper published in Biological Psychology showing that individuals who experienced transcendental consciousness along with waking state activity displayed an advanced style of brainwave activity and increased neurophysiological efficiency during decision-making tasks.

On the basis of this research, Dr. Arenander has been invited to speak at a number of prestigious conferences nationwide. In February 2003, at the Gateway to Lifelong Health conference sponsored by the U.S. Government’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Dr. Arenander gave a featured presentation on brain mechanics of health and disease and how Transcendental Meditation could solve the problem of chronic illness. The CDC is the leading federal agency for protecting the health and safety of U.S. residents, and serves as the national focus for disease prevention and control.

Dr. Arenander has also given recent presentations on

• “The Use of Transcendental Meditation to Enhance Independence and Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities” at the annual meeting of the Iowa Rehabilitation Association;
• “The Search for Truth and a Spiritual Life: The Integrative Approach of Modern and Ancient Science” at a conference on Spirituality and Health in the Age of Science that Dr. Arenander helped organize at the Coudert Institute in Palm Beach, Florida;
• “Brain, Consciousness and Complementary and Alternative Medicine” at the University of Michigan Complementary and Alternative Medicine Research Center;
• “The Potential Impact of Transcendental Meditation in Recovery from Traumatic Brain Injury” at the Brain Injury Association in Des Moines, Iowa;
• “Mapping Human Consciousness” at the Mind Science Foundation conference in San Antonio, Texas, where his talk was called “the best lecture at MSF”; and
• “The Spiritual Brain” at the Science and Religion 2002 Conference in Michigan.

Most recently, Dr. Arenander has joined forces with Lawrence Eyre, a U.S. Professional Tennis Association teaching pro and high school coach with 16 state championships to his credit in the past 12 years, to promote “Total Brain Tennis for Peak Performance.” The two are planning a national tour that includes speaking at high school and college coaches’ clinics, tennis camps, resorts, tennis clubs, sports-science seminars, and USPTA-USPTR conventions.