“Isn't there a contradiction in the idea that we should be negative about negativity?”
-Bill Harris
Issue #462 – Monday, February 10, 2025
by Marc Gilson
Centerpointe Director of Client Services
& Product Development
Without order, nothing can exist. Without chaos, nothing can evolve.
~Oscar Wilde
Welcome to the real world, a reality in which cars break down, financial difficulties befall us, health issues arise, relationships take constant work, the refrigerator goes out during a heat wave, or the furnace decides to die just as the weatherman predicts a week of frigid temps.
Life can be tough and chaotic. And if you're like most people, you put a lot of effort into reducing the chaos and finding happiness wherever you can.
This is precisely why so many people join the Holosync Solution Program. They want less chaos while gaining more peace and happiness.
That’s why it can be a little bit of a surprise for some Holosync users to learn that one of the necessary ingredients in creating a life of peace and happiness is the very thing they're trying to avoid.
That's right: Chaos is the key to creating the life that you want.
But isn't chaos bad? Doesn't it equate to stress? Well, yes. But not always the kind of stress you're thinking of.
The Difference Between Distress & Eustress
Psychologists explain that there are two types of stress.
The first is distress, which is the kind most of us think of when we think of stress.
It's the "Oh no! I'm running late to work again!" kind of stress. Most of us are pretty familiar with distress and there's plenty of it to go around.
But there's another, lesser-known kind of stress, a more positive form of stress. It’s called eustress.
Eustress is what motivates us to get up in the morning even when we'd rather sleep in. It's what compels us to get to the gym, schedule that appointment with the dentist, or make that difficult phone call.
Eustress is stress we voluntarily endure for some higher benefit or payoff.
In short, eustress is good stress.
When people join the Holosync Solution Program, most of them aren't thinking about eustress. They're focused on reducing distress. And as anyone who has used Holosync for a period of time knows, it definitely does reduce distress.
But how? How can listening to a couple of carefully combined discreet pure tones have such a profound impact on something like stress?
In a sense, it does it by adding even more stress - albeit in a very targeted way.
"More stress? Why in the world do I want more stress? No thank you!"
Closed and Open Systems
To explain why more stress may be just what you need to reduce your overall stress, let me introduce you to Dr. Ilya Prigogine.
Prigogine was a Russian physical chemist and Nobel laureate who studied something called "dissipative structures."
Prigogine asked us to imagine a world made up of two different kinds of systems:
Open and closed.
Closed systems are pretty easy to describe. They are represented by things like tables, forks, bricks, etc.. The chair or sofa you may be sitting on right now is a closed system. Closed systems are "closed" because they are not able to accept the input of stimulus from the outside environment without breaking down in some way, big or small.
If we grab a chair and take it outside and leave it in the middle of a field, it will - assuming nobody comes along and moves it - simply sit there. And over time it will be exposed to hot sunlight, drenching rain, perhaps some wind and snow, and other elemental factors that eventually wear the chair down.
While it receives a lot of input and energy from the environment, the chair can't use that energy to grow or adapt. All it can do is sit there, quietly enduring whatever befalls it, until, eventually, the chair collapses. If we come back to check on our chair after a hundred years, chances are good there won't be much left of it at all. That's a closed system.
What about open systems?
Imagine that nearby our poor old worn-down chair in the field there is a tree. Maybe an oak or pine. The tree is exposed to all the same sorts of environmental influences as the chair; the sun, rain, wind, etc..
But, unlike the chair, the tree is an open system. That means the tree can take in the forces and energies of those elemental factors and use them as fuel. In fact, the tree requires many of these forces in order to grow.
Without some rain and wind every so often, the tree fails to grow.
Ever try to grow a tree in a dark, enclosed room where there is no rain or sun? It might seem like a safe place for the tree, but in such an environment the tree will die.
Good Stress & Holosync
Perhaps you can see where I'm going with this. You, me, and everyone you know is an open system. We need a certain amount of rain, wind, and sun to grow.
According to Prigogine-ish reasoning, what we need is a certain amount of chaos. Or as he called it, “entropy.” (Entropy is just randomized energy). We need the challenges of eustress. We need a little nudge out of our comfort zone. Without enough positive stress in our lives, we - like the tree in a dark room - will wither and die.
Our powerful audio technology, Holosync, is the best tool out there to easily introduce some positive, healthy eustress into the open system of our brain. Feed the brain a little controlled chaos and watch what happens; the brain is remarkably adept at reorganizing that chaos into something positive. Essentially, the brain is built to turn chaos into order.
Simply by listening to Holosync daily, you can stimulate your brain to grow, adapt, and improve its functioning.
(And for much more on how Prigogine’s work formed the scientific basis for how Holosync works, be sure to check out Thresholds of the Mind, the first book by late Centerpointe Founder Bill Harris).
But even if you’re not using Holosync, you can benefit by simply paying more attention to the difference between distress and eustress in your life. As we’ve seen, not all stress is negative. Some of it actually helps us grow. A little chaos now and then is just what we need to push the brain to what Prigogine called “a higher order.”
You Can Choose How You Experience Stress
Unfortunately, we often take a positive, eustressful experience and turn it into a distressful situation by how we react to it.
When we get into the habit of complaining, worrying, and fretting over positive eustress, we’re only suffering needlessly. There’s plenty of distress to go around, isn’t there? Why make things harder by fussing over the positive aspects of stress that actually keep us alive and growing?
So the next time you grumble when the alarm clock goes off, or complain about going to the gym, remember that this kind of stress is all part of a larger picture.
In fact, if you want to get “Zen” about things, all forms of stress - and all experiences in life - are part of a larger picture that makes up our reality. Even those potentially distressing experiences might just hold a certain subtle potential for growth…
...if we can manage to learn from them.
Spend some time thinking about the things in your life that stress you out. And when you notice yourself applying a distressful response to what is actually a eustressful situation, use the opportunity to remember that not all stress is bad. Chaos is fuel for an open system, like you.
In fact, with chaos, comes genuine opportunities for change.
Don’t fear a little chaos now and then. It’s the key ingredient to growth, and you wouldn’t have come this far without it.
Check It Out!
Free, Live CoachingCast!
How does meditation unlock a powerful form of anti-aging that can literally turn back the clock on your brain and your body?
Our coaches will reveal the answers live on our next CoachingCast!
Please join us this Thursday as we explore:
Timeless Mind, Ageless Body
The Science Behind Meditation and Anti-Aging
Thursday, February 13, 2025
12 PM PT (3PM ET)
Follow the button below to grab your Zoom link and we’ll see you there!
We are so thrilled by the turnout for our first-ever Centerpointe Community Raffle!
Now that the dust has settled and the winners have all been notified, here they are:
Allyson M.
Ken G.
Roy S.
Alesha D.
Marilyn C.
Chrissy K.
Wade W.
Lisa R.
Dani W.
James E.
Teri W.
Rachelle F.
Vaishalil D.
Sergio A.
Rita S.
Matt N.
Tara G.
Richard O.
Mondy P.
Jeffrey O.
Amy C.
Larry H.
Anita P.
Kathy V.
Lee O.
Congratulations to these big winners and thanks to everyone who participated! Make sure you keep your eye on your email inbox because we’ll be sure to do this again soon!
Wise Words
“Even those potentially distressing experiences might just hold a certain subtle potential for growth - if we can manage to learn from them.”
- Marc Gilson
This Really Happened
You guys are great and I will never leave. I am a customer of yours for life and thank you for making my life better. You guys are awesome!
~Ed
Holosync User
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