In short, I learnt that in order to change my experience of life I needed to reprogram the self-limiting beliefs stored in my subconscious mind. So, I embarked upon a journey to find tools and techniques that were effective in reprogramming my subconscious beliefs.

I discovered teachers and processes that allowed me to interrupt my habit of spiralling into negativity and depression. I also began using methods to seed more uplifting thought patterns into my subconscious mind. I found practices that helped alleviate my fears so that I could take actions that were more in alignment with the person I am at a core level.

Embracing these methodologies was life changing. My mind chatter and negative self-talk reduced significantly. My anxiety levels dropped. I was less fearful about what might happen and didn’t worry about things as much as I had in the past. I was more present in the moment and began to see beauty everywhere. I felt a sense of inner peace and contentment and began to experience joy in the simplest of things. The best news of all? These feeling weren’t fleeting. They were long lasting. My new way of being.

I realised that something within me had changed at a very deep level and it had nothing to do with my external environment as there had been no change in my physical surroundings or personal circumstances.

Part of me wondered if this was a phase I was going through or if it was all in my mind. The sceptical side of me wanted proof.

As fate would have it, I was provided with an opportunity to have my brain mapped by the neuroscientist, Dr. Jeffrey Fannin, who had both the technology and expertise to confirm if the changes I’d experienced were real or all in my mind.

This happened during Dr. Joe Dispenza’s Advanced Workshop being held on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia. One of the highlights of attending the Advanced Workshop was that I was given the opportunity to partake in the scientific testing he was conducting to determine the effects of meditation upon the body and environment. Dr. Fannin was the neuroscientist Dispenza had engaged to assess and quantify improvements in participants’ brain function as a direct result of their partaking in his meditations.

In order to determine the effects of meditation on the brain, Dr. Fannin used electroencephalograph (EEG) technology to record participants’ brainwave activity before, during and after the workshop. Mapping participants brains prior to the workshop allowed Dr. Fannin to obtain a baseline reading for comparison with scans taken during and after the workshop.

I was fortunate, along with a number of other participants, to be a candidate for Dr. Fannin’s brain mapping study at the workshop.

Eager to know the results of my Brainmap, I opted to pay for a 15 minute private consultation with Dr. Fannin to discuss my test results and find out what actions I could take to improve my brain function. I was extremely nervous when I met with him. Knowing that someone could literally read my mind made me feel very vulnerable. (If you are interested in learning more refer to Brain Mapping.)

Having a Bachelor of Applied Science in Medical Imaging Technology, I was familiar with looking at Computerised Tomography (CT), Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and Nuclear Medicine brain scans. However, this training didn’t help me when it came to reviewing my Brainmap results.

You can imagine my surprise (and relief) when Dr. Fannin commented that my Brainmap revealed I had all the key signature markers of an advanced meditator. He said, I was able to move into a meditative state quickly, my meditation technique was correct and I was a disciplined and frequent meditator.

He also said I was in the upper 1% of people who have a keen sense of intuition, I receive clairsentient information and I am able to interpret the emotions of others.

I confirmed Dr. Fannin’s finding about my intuition. However, I didn’t consider myself an advanced meditator. I have to admit, sitting in Dr. Joe’s meditations for two hours at a time was a real stretch for me. Also, I didn’t have the mystical experiences that the other participants spoke of when relaying what had occurred during their meditations. I felt like a fraud in comparison.

I’d only recently had a breakthrough with meditation. I was now able to quickly move beyond mind chatter into a state in which I felt a heart centred connection of universal love. In this state, I felt an immense sense of warmth and benevolence not only towards others but myself as well.

This breakthrough occurred due to Gregg Braden introducing me to HeartMath’s Inner Balance App. (If you’d like to learn more about the process and software I used refer to the sections titled, HearthMath and Inner Balance.)

I also provided Dr. Fannin with a brief summary of the methods I’d been using to reprogram my subconscious mind over the last two years. I’d attended a PSYCH-K Basic Workshop and was using the processes I’d studied to seed my subconscious mind with new beliefs. I’d become mindful of my thoughts and the words I used and instead of complaining and reliving situations that made me unhappy and frustrated, I focused on mentally rehearsing my ideal day. I’d stopped doing things out of guilt in order to please others and had instead begun to put my needs first. I’d also practised emotional self management by intentionally incorporating activities into my life that brought me joy and evoked and matched the feelings and emotions that I’d been mentally rehearsing.

Dr. Fannin encouraged me to continue what I’d been doing. He said we can see with brain mapping those people who think they are doing the work and the people that are actually doing the work. He told me that my results were a testament to all of the work I’d done on myself in various forms and this was evidence that I was becoming more whole and more congruent and that my brain was in a very coherent state. He also confirmed that I was in that state most of the time and you don’t get there by accident.

He asked me if I had any questions. I did. I wanted to know if there was anything else I could do to make further progress. He told me I was on the right track. My results were text book perfect. There wasn’t anything specific he could tell me to do or not to do. Technically, I was already doing everything correctly.

Dr. Fannin encouraged me to continue to develop my meditation practise.

Participating in Dr. Joe’s meditations, which are designed to move you into a state of being in which the mind and the body are no longer the focus, did enhance my post-workshop results. By developing a regular meditation practise my results would continue to improve.

By having my brain mapped, I now had a benchmark that I could compare future progress with and I was looking forward to seeing the changes in my Brainmap results once I’d really mastered meditating.

But deep down I really wished that I could’ve had the opportunity to have my brain mapped before I’d done all the work on myself. I would have had a true baseline for comparison if I’d experienced this at a time when I was in the height of my depression, ruled by anxiety and plagued by negative self-talk.

I, too, wished that others could readily have access to his brain mapping technology and services. I mentioned my desire to Dr. Fannin. I indicated that I’d be interested in learning how to perform the EEG readings and send the data to him for analysis. He said that was certainly possible but he was already in the process of developing affordable technology and software that would allow people to perform their own Brainmap and receive a report of their results almost instantaneously.

The even better news? This device will come with instructions and training software tailored to your specific brain map results that will help to improve your brain function.

Watch this space for updates!