Peak Performance Through Alpha TrainingAlpha training is often done at the back of the brain to enable more integration between the left and right hemispheres of the brain.  This results in people moving into a peak erformance state. Meditative states ahe enabled peak erformance for thousnads of years. What happens to performance when the brain is not integrated?The following is a  great piece abaout what happens when the two hemispheres are seperate during a stroke.  (video available too)Tim Tayag on Jill Bolte Taylor’s My stroke of insightWhen Jill says you can choose between the right brain, where you could be connected to the universe and not know where you begin, and the left brain, where you would become an individual separate from everyone else — that line reminded me of the way electrons behave. An electron could be a wave or cloud or it could be a particle. When an electron is not being observed, it does not occupy a specific space, it is just a cloud of possibilities. But as soon as it is observed, it takes on a specific position in space.  Those interested in peak performance will find many ways to enhance functioning.Motivated or high functioning people are different. Ask these people why they strive and many reasons unfold. Some report success as a compensation for early difficulties. Many others report that they seem to have been born with a gift and were given encouragement and resources to succeed. External forces differ. It is clear that in one area there is agreement. An internal desire to do well is the largest single common thread that signifies a potential high achiever. Those with this internal desire have learned to reflect on correcting past actions. EEG Neurofeedback or Alpha Training is one way to increase the ability to perform at a higher level. Alpha re-tunes the mind by calming the body and allowing the mind to be free.One’s mind is creating neural pathways by simple repeated thoughts and/or actions. Where are your thoughts leading you? How disciplined are any of us about where our minds or bodies are pointing? WWW.GOALS@NAP can be a meme that serves as a reminder to keep positive energy surroundings one’s goals. The formula signifies the importance of wide-awake, willfully, wanting (goals), while remembering the importance of a neutral attitude that is persistent.Wanting one�s goals while keeping a positive attitude about trying and often failing is easy to claim and hard to live. Failure might mean you learned but perhaps it hurt. Remembering this double-edged sword is useful. Now you know more about where to bend and where to stand. Reflections and neutrality help one to mentally practice for the future. Those who are persistent know about the long wait. It is no big deal. Those willing to thoughtfully experiment can often achieve big results. Stating your goals while giving up on having to achieve them allow one to see the content of the mind’s neediness as just another movie. Overinvolved is not useful in performance. Neutrality melts overinvolvement.Trial and error learning increases the ability to perform well above expectations.In fact being able to be vulnerable and make mistakes by trying may be one of the hallmarks for later success in life. This is due to our species’ history of surveying undercharging conditions. There has to be failure. Again, no big deal, our brains are designed for survival. Survivors are good at guessing in an uncertain world.Many books have been written concerning attitudes and the importance of beliefs in performance. In addition to these older ideas Family Systems Theory offers a few new ideas. Those interested in peak performance have to be able to withstand the winds of praise and blame in important relationships. The ability to manage self in relationships is crucial to performance. Therefore the ability to continually separate out a more mature self from a relationships’ feedback is an ongoing challenge.There are at least four steps involved in the process of separating out a more distinct and hopefully more mature self. If people can be clear about these four steps there is more reason to believe that the chances for success have increased exponentially. Preparing the brain for action involves integrating old feelings of hesitation or fear and memories of past failures into the new plans that one wishes to achieve. The more one prepares the better the brain is prepared to change. Preparation is about the same thing as doing as far as the firing of brain cells is concerned. Think it and it is happening at least at a neuronal level.

1. Goals and Costs: Be clear within oneself about what one wants to accomplish. To be clear it is often helpful to outline the cost and benefits of the actions. Changes cost people. It is good to try and predict how it will cost you or your loved ones. You might not be right but guessing prepares you for uncertainty.
2. The Action Step: One has to communicate these written down goals to the larger system by an action. Talk is not enough and can be counter productive. It is best to keep important ideas to yourself until you are prepared to act. If you do need feedback then you are probably just at an earlier stage of preparation. The main idea is the actions must be taken for you to benefit or do something for or to others.
3. Recognize the System: People are reacting to one another constantly. Non verbal monitoring is ongoing when people are bound together. It can be family ties, work issues or social causes but we need one another so there will always be reactivity.Reactivity simply shows up. When one changes the others notice and will react in some negative way. This is the signal that acknowledges that the system has changed. It has to happen. The degree of reactivity tells you what type of system you are dealing with. If it is a highly overinvolved system and people are very dependent on one another for agreement then the negative reactions may be huge to any small change.
4. The System Reorganizes: If the one who sets a goal is willing to wait out the reactivity without falling into a counter reaction, then real changes might work their way through the system. Perhaps a good metaphor would be of an orchestra in which a new instrument is integrated into the group. Everyone shifts just slightly to make way. If the new instrument has a lead part then this may put more stress on the others to harmonize. In fact it may take longer for each person to tune up before the whole group can again play in some degree of harmony.