The Bub in the Belly

So in this post let’s talk about what Dr Makoto Shichida hoped to achieve with The Shichida Method. In my last Shichida post, I mentioned The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar by Roald Dahl. Did it leave an impression on you?

I read the story when I was a child. At the time, I did not know that it was based on a real man called Kuda Bux. On all accounts, to me, the tale was completely fictional. Yet, it made perfect sense to me. There was scientific proof that human beings used less than 10% of their brain and we could already do so much with that tiny portion. What would the unused portion be for? Surely it couldn’t be merely storage space.

I was convinced that it was possible, as Henry Sugar did in the story, to focus your concentration such that you achieved a deeper level of consciousness and, in that deeper consciousness, draw out those hidden abilities. I even tried training with a candle, as explained in the story, and, when I saw how extremely difficult it was, I believed even more that there was this untapped power in all of us which was accessible to a select few.

And the part of the story that made the deepest impression on me? It was the change in Henry Sugar from an avaricious, selfish man to a kind and generous man who went to great lengths to make money for charity. He travelled around the world, from casino to casino, always on the run as the casinos were on the hunt for him. He had to travel with a make-up artist and was always in disguise. Yet he carried on, seeking neither fame nor fortune, and used his abilities to better the lives of others.

This made perfect sense to me. I very readily accepted the idea that human beings had been created by God with all these powers and of course these amazing abilities could only be accessed by people who were wise, people who were innocent, people who were good, or in other words, people who would not abuse these powers and who would feel the responsibility and the obligation to use these powers for the greater good, to help others and to make the world a better place.

Sounds utopian? Perhaps. But if you want to believe in something, it should be something that’s worth believing in. And the idea that we could all be kind and generous and compassionate to each other and live unselfishly is something that’s definitely worth believing in.

Of course, at the time I read the story, I knew nothing of Shichida or of left/right brain education. It was therefore a happy day for me when I discovered that Shichida believes the exact same thing. The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar is, in fact, an excellent explanation and introduction to the Shichida Method.

The Shichida Method trains our focus and concentration such that we slip into an altered state of consciousness, during which we can access our hidden abilities (in his book, “The Science of Intelligence and Creativity”, Shichida even mentions focusing on a candle flame, just like Henry Sugar did, as one way to do image training). This altered state of consciousness can be achieved by activating the imaging capabilities of the right brain.

Just as Kuda Bux had said, Shichida also says that we all have the same right brain abilities and Shichida says it is the responsibility of parents and teachers to “pull out” the originally large potential capability any child was born with to the fullest extent through education (he points out that the original meaning of education (in Latin) is “to pull out the innate ability”). Shichida says, “Children, given a Shichida style education, have amazing concentration and absorbing power”.

And the aim? Professor Shichida believes that the future of the world, which includes achieving peace and a sense of goodwill among human beings, depends on the children of today and he also believes that, “Education will shape the future of the world because one of the objectives of education is to create a better world.”

Shichida marries the two concepts and says that, “When teaching children that they are valuable beings in the world, we should also teach them that they must take great responsibility as well. We must teach the children that each one of them has a responsibility to nurture his or her own innate capability to the fullest degree. Also, it is important to tell them to use such hidden treasure for the entire nation or the world.”

“We should not fall into the education trap that tries to produce the intellectually strong. “For what purpose do human beings live?” Ask your child this fundamental question about life and have him or her think about it.”

“Right brain training does not focus on academic achievement alone. One of the miraculous results of right brain education is that all the children treated with this method develop a gentle and harmonious mind. They will start showing richly nourished sensitivity, humanity, imagination and creativity. This is the natural result of right brain education whose learning principles based upon love, the sense of one-ness and cooperation. On the other hand, left brain-centred education is based upon confrontation and competition.”

Therefore, “The aim of the right brain education is not to give children mere knowledge but to foster love, the sense of oneness and cooperation among children.” This is why Shichida’s right brain education method is known as “the education of the heart”.

And that is the reason why we believe in the Shichida Method. Because our wish for Ryan is for him to grow up with a kind heart, with a compassionate soul and with a generous spirit. Because we believe that he can make a difference.

It's something that's worth believing in, don't you think?

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

Hope you enjoyed Part 1. Have you been hugging your children and telling them that you love them? Have you been giving them a safe space to express themselves without scolding, criticism or impatience? Did you talk less, ask and listen more? If you have, great!

Remember, Shichida believes that the right brain pathways close when a child senses negative emotion and is stressed, afraid or bored, in which case right brain training and interbrain training will not yield the expected results.

Shichida teaches us that there are 6 important points to remember when viewing our children:

1. Don’t look at their shortcomings.
2. Don’t look at the present form as the completed form, know that the child is growing and progressing.
3. Don’t be a perfectionist.
4. Don’t compare. Every child has a potential to be the best.
5. Don’t place priority on academic achievements.
6. Learn to see the child as perfect – just as he/she is.

A Shichida parent will Love, Praise and Accept his/her child.

Now, in my next Shichida post and still on the fundamentals, I want to share with you what we are trying to achieve with Shichida parenting. Here, I will give you some food for thought first. Have you read Roald Dahl’s fictional 1945 tale, “The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar”? I read it as a child and it made a great impact on me. It truly is a wonderful story. Here is a summary, which I copied off the internet (with minor edits).

Henry Sugar is a 41-year-old Englishman, wealthy and idle. He is a selfish playboy (he is unmarried because he does not want to share his money with a wife) and greedy (he is always looking for ways to increase his wealth). He inherited his wealth and he has never learnt anything or done any work before. He likes to gamble and is not above cheating to win. One weekend, while feeling bored at a friend’s mansion, Henry wanders into the library and discovers a book titled: "A Report on an Interview with Imhrat Khan, the Man Who Could See Without His Eyes" by Dr. John Cartwright. Henry reads the whole thing. The book talks of an Indian man, Khan, who comes to see Dr. Cartwright to get confirmation of his ability to see without using his eyes. The doctor seals his eyelids, fills his eye-sockets with dough, lays a thick pad of cotton-wool on his eyes and bandages his hands with two rolls of 3-inch bandage. To the doctor’s surprise, Khan walks out the hospital, takes his bicycle and proceeds to ride out into the bustling honking traffic. Amazed, the doctor invites Khan to have supper with him and asks Khan to explain how he developed this magical power.

Khan tells the doctor his story. As a young boy, he was fascinated with magic and ran off to be a magician's assistant. He was terribly disappointed to realize it was all trickery and sleight of hand. He decided to learn the strange power called yoga. It was hard to find a teacher, because Khan wanted to learn yoga for fame and fortune, and real yogis refused to teach him for those reasons. Eventually Khan managed to locate a yogi called Banerjee, and he watched in secret as Banerjee levitated during meditation. The yogi discovered him and became enraged, chasing him off. Khan went back every day though, and eventually Banerjee agreed to recommend him to a yogi friend for instruction. So Khan began the yoga training. He learned about focus and concentration. He described all the exercises he did. After three years of exercising he was able to walk over glowing embers, and after this success he decided that he would concentrate upon this exclusive aim – to see without his eyes. So every night, he lighted a candle at dead level to his eyes, stared at the black part of the flame, then shut his eyes and concentrated upon one single object. At the age of 24 he was slowly beginning to develop an inner sense of sight. At 29, he was able to read a book blindfolded, “seeing” with other parts of his body. Dr Cartwright is amazed with Khan's story. He decides that it must be published, that Khan's abilities might pave the way towards helping the blind see and the deaf hear. However, before he can speak to him again the next day, he learns that Khan has died in his sleep.

Having read this report Henry Sugar realises that if he could train himself to do the same he could make a fortune. So he tries the trick with the candle-flame. Surprisingly his progress is remarkable. Henry thinks he must be the one-in-a-million person who is gifted with the ability to acquire yoga powers at incredible speed. At some time during the 10th month of his training he becomes aware of a slight ability to see an object with his eyes closed. And that’s when he tries the thing with the card. And it works! His aim is to see the reverse side of a card in four seconds. After three years and three months of exercising he reaches his aim and goes to his favourite casino and wins a lot of money. When he gets home, he realizes that he doesn't feel as happy as he expected. The yoga training has changed his outlook on life. In the morning, he throws a 20-pound note to someone on the street and realizes that charity makes him feel good. Without a thought, he throws the entire pile of money out the window. A riot ensues and a policeman comes to question him. Henry is astonished when the policeman berates him for not giving the money to a worthy cause, like a hospital or orphanage. Henry decides the policeman is right and formulates a plan. For the next twenty years, Henry travels the world winning fortunes at casinos and, with these winnings, his personal accountant sets up orphanages in every country Henry visits. By the time Henry dies, he has over 144 million pounds and set up 21 well-established, well-run orphanages scattered about the world.

I want to mention that Roald Dahl’s character, Imhrat Khan, is based on the true story of an Indian man called Kuda Bux. Kuda Bux even had his own CBS tv series. In 1934 he allowed a team of experts and scientists to seal his eyes shut with dough, tinfoil, gauze and layers of woolen bandages and astounded them by being able to still read from books placed in front of him. In 1935, in front of an audience of scientists from the University of London Council for Psychical Research and news reporters, Kuda Bux walked across a 12-foot pit of burning coals unscathed. In 1937, he amazed onlookers in Liverpool by walking the entire length of a narrow ledge of a roof 200 feet above the ground while blindfolded. In 1945, Kuda Bux skillfully rode a bicycle through congested New York’s Times Square while his eyes were taped shut.

Ironically, in his later life, Kuda Bux lost his eyesight to glaucoma. Yet, he still managed to reproduce his amazing abilities. Most astoundingly, when not blindfolded, Kuda Bux required reading glasses to read fine print. Whilst blindfolded Kuda Bux would read the dates on coins which are held on a spectator’s hand, read the fine print of a magazine, thread a needle, duplicate words he had never seen written, shoot a bullseye with a pellet gun, and many other mysteries. When asked how he could see, Kuda Bux explained, “I can see due to the power of my concentration. I bring my attention to a finer level of my vision. It’s my power of concentration.” Kuda Bux paused briefly then stated, “My back was broken in three places. Doctors said that I would never walk again. With my concentration I was able to heal myself. I have no problem walking now,” he asserted. And when asked “Can anyone learn to do this?”, Kuda Bux affirmed, “Yes, you can develop your power of concentration by gazing at the gap between a flame and the candle. Do this just a few seconds at first,” he explained. “After some time you will be able to do this for much longer.”

Now, what part of "The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar" made the deepest impression on you? Think about it - your answer will be relevant to the question of what results you expect to see from the Shichida Method. So think about it, and in my next Shichida post, I will share with you the aims of the Shichida Method.

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