Here's a short summary of my take how story and the Hero's Journey plays an integral role in biofeedback:

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People have asked why I would merge the story and brain meetings I used to run, and what does story have to do with neurofeedback or qEEG. When I sat down to write this article, more than ever, the answers became more evident. 

Karl Pribram discussed the “narrative I” describing how the brain functions in a narrative way. Lou Cozzolino, author of THE NEUROSCIENCE of Psychotherapy, discussed how, when the brain processes story, many parts of the brain are engaged.

Lewis Mehl Madrona discussed how stories are an alternate way to help heal clients, instead of drugs. Over and over again people who came to attend the Brain part of the meeting came up to thank me for including the story portion.

logo from story conference

Below is a short summary of my take on how story plays an integral role in biofeedback:

I like to use the monomyth, or hero's journey—the archetypal story of stories—to characterize to clients the path they can expect to walk as they go through the process of biofeedback, of personal change and growth.

The Hero's Journey or monomyth was described in Joseph Campbell's book, Hero With A Thousand Faces, as the story that is told in thousands of myths throughout the world in innumerable cultures. It is the story of change and rebirth, and so, it makes sense that it is an excellent teaching story for helping clients to see what they will experience as they go through the stages of healing and growth that biofeedback sets them on the path toward. One film-maker who adopted the hero's journey for his famous films was George Lucas, so I'll use Luke Skywalker's heroic journey for examples. (By the way, one of the speakers at StoryCon this year, Steve Barnes, just wrote an authorized by Lucas Star Wars Novel.)

Here's an abridged description of the hero's journey, in a nutshell, interspersed with explanation of how to tie it to the biofeedback process.

The Call: The story begins in the ordinary world, where the protagonist, the potential hero, receives a call to adventure—an invitation to respond to an opportunity. The protagonist has an opportunity to become aware of an opportunity to do something heroic. Often. Clients' symptoms provide their call to adventure, or their desire to change their lives or behaviors, or it could be that your client just decides to open his or her self up to change, or it may be a subtle discomfort or something lacking with the way things are. In Star Wars, Luke Skywalker is invited by Obi Wan Kenobe to go with him to rescue Princess Leah, and to learn the way of THE FORCE.

Rejecting the Call: Often, people will reject the call. Then, they end up living with the problem that the call to adventure has the promise to solve. Clients hold on to their headaches, anxiety, distractability, etc. Luke Skywalker explained that he had to help his aunt and uncle harvest the dehydrators. IF you reject the call, then worse things can happen. Symptoms get worse, or start affecting more parts of our lives. Luke Skywalker's aunt and uncle were killed the next day. Often, an initially rejected call, when worse consequences befall the protagonist, the decision to accept the call is made.

The Threshold: to accept the call, one must cross the threshold, leaving the ordinary world and entering a new world, where one can expect adventure, danger, and opportunities and the need to develop new tools, weapons, skills, knowledge, allies and other resources. Clients leave a collection of systems that they are accustomed to—health, symptoms, family relationships, job—with the potential that they will experience changes that could drastically effect any or all of those systems. Luke leaves the farm and goes, with Obi Wan Kenobe, first to another town, then to outer space. Often, once one crosses the threshold the new world starts out in a dark, ambiguous place.

Threshold Guardians: These sometimes frightening guardians are sometimes really dangerous, and sometimes, like the dragons placed outside Buddhist temples, placed there to intimidate the timid and unsure. Crossing the threshold is a decision one must firmly make. Clients face doctors who tell them that the therapy they are seeking is unscientific, unproven or just plain BS. They face spouses who don't want them to change, children, siblings and friends who question their ability or desire to change. Or insurance adjusters or the client's wallet can block their crossing the threshold. Luke Skywalker faces star troopers, and then bad guys in the cantina scene, where Obi Wan Kenobe uses his light saber to rescue him.

The Mentor: The hero, ready to cross the threshold, encounters a mentor, often an old, wise man or woman—the mentor archetype, who helps make the crossing and find the way in the new world. Therapists, healers, coaches, practitioners play the role of the mentor for clients. Obi Wan Kenobe played the role for Luke.

Road of Trials: Once the protagonist crosses the threshold he or she can expect to face a series of trials, to face dangers, dragons, and to reach a point where he or she almost dies, facing a mighty, dangerous antagonist. But also, during this time, the hero begins to acquire new skills, tools, weapons, knowledge, allies and other resources. Clients face new stresses, new challenges to their weaknesses, and in the process, learn greater self and psychophysiological awareness, self regulation, relaxation, focusing and attention techniques, and perhaps, new cognitive and behavioral skills, They encounter fear, anger, anxiety, depression, as they let go of their old habits, old medications, and face a new life without symptoms, with greater awareness and self responsibility.

Battle with the Dragon and symbolic death or dismemberment

At some point in the journey, the hero faces a frightening, huge, dangerous dragon-like monster, fights him, her or it, and barely survives. The hero Celebrates with a party, and then must face another, even more life threatening conflict. I've suggested that if a therapist hasn't killed her patient, she hasn't done her job. The client, who is seeking change, must face the fear of change, the flaw we've avoided or the issue we need to resolve. This is the monster. But upon fighting the monster and coming close to death, the heroic client is reborn as a new, stronger person. The last fight is a reminder not to finish the therapy, coaching or training too soon. Luke fights the thing in the trash compactor, then fights in the death star, only to watch his mentor killed.

Transformation and Enlightenment once the hero “dies,” he has been transformed and becomes awakened to a new, enlightened state. Clients finally “get it” in terms of the mental, physical emotional and spiritual changes that they've been working on. Lukes returns, having saved the galaxy and his planet, as a respected hero.

The Return The hero returns to the ordinary world with the “magic elixir” he has acquired on his journey, and he uses it, as an active member of the community, to help heal the world. Clients leave therapy and return to their lives with freedom from symptoms and new abilities to embrace life with strength, calm and courage.

When you walk your client through an abridged telling of the monomyth, or hero's journey, and explain that this is the most common mythic story told, it helps your client to see you as a mentor who is assisting him on a noble, heroic journey. It helps the client plan for and expect bumps in the road, people who will attempt to sabotage the process, and builds hope in the long term results.

Authors Bio:

One theme has run through my work for the past 40 plus years-- a desire to play a role in waking people up, raising their consciousness and empowering them.
I was the organizer founder of the Winter Brain, Optimal Functioning and Positive Psychology and StoryCon Meetings and president of Futurehealth, Inc., with interests in Positive Psychology as well as being involved in the field of biofeedback/neurofeedback since 1972.
see my more detailed bio, reflecting my work in biofeedback, here.

In 2003 I founded www.OpEdNews.com , where I've written over 1800 articles and have published over 100,000 other people's writings, with the goal of raising people's consciousness in political and activist ways.