The Bub in the Belly

In this post I will explain the scientific basis of The Shichida Method.

Firstly, let me point out that Professor Shichida’s statements about the right brain may seem strange or novel but they are actually based on considerable research and findings by noted scientists, researchers, philosophers, theorists, psychologists, scholars and academics. The revolutionary part about his method is that he was the first to apply left/right brain research and findings to the field of education.

Let’s start with a theory supported by many scientists, called the “Superstring Theory”. Building on quantum theory, this says that everything can be sorted into molecules, atoms and elementary particles, and if we sort them further, they are vibrating waves. So every object/person gives off wave vibrations and the cosmos is brimming with waves containing information.

Scientists have demonstrated that the cells in our bodies are able, not only to emit vibrating waves, but also to perceive waves from objects/people and process the information the waves contain. Of course, we can readily accept the concept that our bodies can receive information about light, sound, heat, etc. What Shichida is focusing on is additional wave information which we are not conscious of, which is delivered to the right brain.

According to Shichida, to send and receive images this way, our mind must be operating at alpha wave frequency (8 - 13 hertz), which is usually associated with a relaxed state of mind. This is also known as a “dream state” and can be seen in persons watching a movie or television programme in which they are fully engrossed, mostly unaware of their surroundings. You see this very commonly in young children – they are able to focus and concentrate intensely on their chosen task, seemingly oblivious to everything else.

In this brain state, wave information can travel on this frequency to the right brain. The right brain converts the information into an image and transmits it to the left brain to be expressed. For example, we can sense the presence of a person in a room although we have not yet had sight of him. The great football player, Pele, once said, “I become able to grasp the positioning of all other players on the field instinctively, and I become able to feel what move each of them will make”. There are many examples in sports. When a race car driver is racing at top speed, he adjusts his state of mind to the elements – the moving car, the upcoming bends and corners in the circuit. He calms himself, shuts out other stimuli and puts himself mentally in sync with the speed of the elements. His perception of time starts to change. He feels time passing very slowly and he can clearly see how to pass the next corner as if he were in a slow motion movie. Many athletes have similar experiences – a baseball player eyeballing the ball flying towards his bat, a marathon runner experiencing his “runner’s high”, etc. When they reach this state, they are capable of great things.

Some scientists term this unusual state of mind as an Altered State of Consciousness (ASC). ASC has also been associated with artistic creativity.

Professor Shichida believed that smart and creative people had the habit of slipping into this state of mind. He believed that the mystery of human abilities lies in achieving this deeper level of consciousness, during which we can access the powerful abilities of the right brain and he believed the objective of education should be to enable us to do all this. This therefore forms the basic methodology of the Shichida Method - to achieve this relaxed state of mind and to train and develop the right brain.

There are several ways of achieving the relaxed brain state – calming yourself/meditation, deep and slow breathing, suggestions/hypnosis, image training (including image training with candles a la Henry Sugar), etc.

As for training the right brain, the method teaches us various ways to strengthen and exercise the right brain. Basically, the more you use the right brain, the stronger it becomes.

Remember that, although the main characteristic of the Shichida Method is its concentration on right brain education, Shichida believes that the secret of genius lies in the ability to use the left and right brain as a whole. If the right brain is not bridged to the expressive consciousness of the left brain, its abilities cannot be utilized. Therefore, the Shichida Method promotes “whole brain education” by developing the right brain and connecting it to the left brain, thus, allowing both sides of the brain to work in balance. The great abilities of the right brain are developed, and then transferred to the left brain to express, as the left brain is in charge of expression.

Remember also that right brain education starts with opening up the heart. This is why Shichida says that the genius is the person who has received enough love from his parents. The right brain cannot be accessed if there is negativity, because the child will deal with negative emotions by suppressing the right brain.

Ok, that's it for this post. Hope it was informative!

[This post also appears in our Learning at Home section.]