The Pleasure Freeze: Hedonism versus Anhedonism
Habits cannot be simply changed, dropped or broken…they can only be replaced with another habit. Since it’s known that health is related to the choices, decisions and habits one manifests, it’s important to study these fixed attitudes in order to show that they are indeed not only the cause, but the first cause of many human dis-eases.
The only connections that consciousness has with inner and outer reality are the sensory mechanisms located on the integumental membranes of the body. This membrane separates self from non-self. 1 Therefore, in order to better understand how consciousness and perception form habits, the relationship between the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual aspects of one’s sensory experience must be fully examined. Is imbalance of the sensory mechanisms the first cause of disease?
Sensory Resonance
Attitude greatly depends upon the manner in which someone’s perception senses the current situation as either a threat or a challenge. Constant threat can lead to the Pleasure Freeze. This decision determines whether or not one enters a state of resonance or dissonance as revealed by their biometrics and state of mind (see chart below).
The human autonomic nervous system (ANS), not only multi-senses reality, but also responds to it with actions. Balancing the sympathetic and parasympathetic has become the goal of many healing therapies, especially within the functional medical field.
Electroencephalography (EEG) has become an accepted way of measuring the status and function of the ANS. The diagram below is an expanded version of the standard model and shows how the perception of choice versus threat directs consciousness into resonance or dissonance, whether or not one is speeding up into the sympathetic system or slowing down into the parasympathetic mode.
Homeostasis attempts to balance these two polar mind states, by placing limits on how far consciousness can go in either direction until it is pulled back to a normal state in the center. The inability to balance these two states can result in the Pleasure Freeze. However, as shown in the illustration, if consciousness is expanded in both directions at the same time, those limits can be bypassed, resulting in maximum balanced resonance of both parasympathetic and sympathetic expressions within the ANS. We call this state of mind…Sensory Resonance.2
Emotions: Pain versus Pleasure
In addition, it has been shown that emotional quotient (EQ) and perception of the moment greatly influences habits. Sensory Resonance resolves the obsession of the reticular activating system (RAS) to maintain survival by giving it what it wants (not by bypassing it with drugs or calming it down with medication) but by providing it security and making sure that everything adds up and makes intuitive sense. When this occurs, consciousness is free to attain higher states of order like feelings of peace, well being, connectedness, that one is on the right path and faith that “all is okay”.
These feelings are the essence of emotion. Thinking is purely imaginary. One can think anything they want without creating problems except for maybe some internal turmoil. However, when such internal thoughts are expressed outwardly by saying, writing or even gesturing them, they become real and begin to manifest in the time domain reality we live in.3
Levels of Consciousness and Emotion
However, this is all mental activity…where do the emotions fit in? The emotions are the connections between normal states of consciousness and the unconscious minds of the subconscious and superconscious.
Humans mostly stay in the conscious present moment that deals with the intuition, understanding, courage, knowledge, council, worship and wisdom. The lower emotions like hate hate, greed, boredom, sadness, need and anger originate when the mind drops down into a subconscious state where the past is stored. On the other hand, when mind reaches up into the higher state of superconscious, thinking leans toward the future and what is going to happen in the next moment.
Pain versus Pleasure
Another way to look at this is to realize that these two opposite actions of consciousness relate to the simple concepts of pain versus pleasure. Whereas, eastern societies mostly focus on experiencing life, the western societies want to analyze it.
Whereas that attention has led to greater technological progress, western societies have issued dire warnings about the dangers of pleasure and have enacted strong laws to discourage it. Somehow, they’ve gotten sensory confused with sexual. This has resulted in western societies refusing to go to the experiential side because the only thing left there is pain…so why go there? Therefore, many westerners remain in the analyze mode rather than suffer the imposed consequences of pleasure, and live an uninspired life that stays in threat mode.
Even though there is some truth behind sexual tendencies being somehow related to the senses, that’s only one form of pleasure. There is a huge difference between healthy and sordid forms of pleasure.4
Healthy Pleasure
Healthy Pleasure leads to blissful, resonance whereas sordid pleasure leads to the dissonance of ruined relationships, families, careers and loss of joy. The level of pleasure that one can experience is only equal to the depth of pain that has been overcome. Otherwise, there is no way to compare and know what level of pleasure has been achieved. The more pain experienced in life, the more pleasurable life becomes. However, in western societies it has become taboo and many have lost their ability to comfortably experience pleasure. And, many of those who haven’t, have distorted the idea into various forms of sordid, unaccepted and destructive activities because they live in parasympathetic dissonance (Figure two above).
In addition, healthy pleasure results in the production of happiness chemicals in the endocrine system that has lasting, positive effects on mood, patience, physical health, mental abilities, emotional control and and faith that all is okay.
The Pleasure Freeze
Scientifically, the inability to experience pleasure is named anhedonism…the opposite of hedonism, or the exaltation of unlimited pleasure. The idea that this condition is the first cause of dis-ease was developed by Jan Hraniky, MD when she was an associate of Carl Simonton, MD, a well-known leader in alternative medicine. She describes ill-health as a product of something she calls the pleasure freeze.5
She’s now the medical director of the Hippocrates Center and specializes in the resolution of pleasure freeze, and like many other doctors all over the world, has done work with the sensory resonance vehicles developed by InnerSense. Her work provides evidence of the efficacy of resolving this condition with the technology each time it improves a various therapy like cancer treatment and other serious dis-eases.
Such is the situation for alcoholism and other additive behaviors…they all have pleasure freeze. To heal they must find alternatives that provide them with new, more constructive obsessions that lead to higher levels of order instead of deeper into chaos.
Sober Fun
These new forms of healthy pleasure can have immensely positive, gratifying and long lasting effects on human health, mental abilities, emotional control and spiritual evolution.
One of the most effective means is the process mentioned above called sensory resonance. An innerspace vehicle that provides the RAS with the security and sense that everything is okay that it demands, can be created by synchronizing the sensory mechanisms with light, sound, tactile vibration, aroma and music. Deep, coherent experiences like this can lead to profound relaxation, loss of anxiety, blissful inspiration and help improve physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health. It is the perfect adjunct to any therapy that treats PTSD and other forms of trauma by helping to release the past and move forward toward self-realization and mastery.
This new type of multi-sensory integration, based on the concept of sensory resonance, was created and designed to resolve the Pleasure Freeze. and help people modify their habits. A sudden waking back-up to joy in life can lead to happiness and life long satisfaction even in the face of adversity that sometimes appears. The realization that life is much bigger than the mundane things humans usually deal with leads to a perception of absolute security and trust, even in situations of uncertainty. This the ultimate personal possession…true Faith.
For your own journey to innerspace via a sensory resonance vehicle, please book a session at the Reality Management Center in Santa Monica, California at www.realitymgmt.com.
- http://harmonicresolution.com/membranes-have-consciousness/ ↩︎
- http://harmonicresolution.com/blog/page/3/ ↩︎
- http://harmonicresolution.com/sound-therapy-and-the-manifestation-cycle ↩︎
- https://sound therapy results in healthy pleasure, peace and well-being ↩︎
- The “Pleasure-Freeze”: A Psychological Theory of Cancer, Janet Hranicky, Fielding Institute, 1986 ↩︎