Martha Stark MD – 21 Feb 2009 – The Wisdom of the Matrix – From Chaos to Coherence.pptx

THE WISDOM
OF THE MATRIX:
FROM CHAOS TO COHERENCE
“The world breaks everyone; but, in the end, people
are stronger at the broken places.”
Ernest Hemingway
Martha Stark, M.D.
marthastarkmd@hms.harvard.edu
2009 FSM Symposium / February 21, 2009

HOW DOES COHERENCE EMERGE FROM CHAOS?
HOW DOES THE LIVING SYSTEM EVOLVE FROM DISORDER TO ORDER?
HOW DOES IT EVOLVE FROM COMPROMISED HEALTH AND DISEASE
(i.e., DISRUPTED EASE OF FLOW OF INFORMATION AND ENERGY)
TO OPTIMAL HEALTH, ORDEREDNESS, AND EASE OF FLOW?
WE KNOW, FROM THE SECOND LAW OF THERMODYNAMICS (ENTROPY),
THAT CLOSED SYSTEMS WILL TEND TO “RUN DOWN” OVER TIME,
DEVOLVING FROM ORDER TO DISORDER
BUT THE LIVING SYSTEM IS AN OPEN SYSTEM AND THEREFORE
EVER RECEPTIVE TO REGULATORY INPUT FROM THE OUTSIDE,
WHICH INPUT WILL PROMPT ONGOING MOBILIZATION
OF THE SYSTEM’S ADAPTIVE (HOMEOSTATIC) MECHANISMS,
THEREBY ENABLING THE SYSTEM TO EVOLVE, OVER TIME,
FROM LESS ORDER TO MORE ORDER, FROM DISORDER TO ORDER
CHAOS (COMPLEXITY) THEORY IS ALL ABOUT THESE
SELF – ORGANIZING, COMPLEX ADAPTIVE, NONLINEAR DYNAMIC SYSTEMS
THAT EVOLVE FROM CHAOS TO COHERENCE BY WAY OF
ERRATIC, SEEMINGLY RANDOM, SUDDEN, UNEXPECTED, UNPREDICTABLE,
AND SOMETIMES DRAMATIC UPS AND DOWNS

HOW DOES COHERENCE
EMERGE FROM CHAOS?
HOW EXACTLY DOES THIS EVOLUTION / SELF – ORGANIZATION OCCUR?
IS THE PROGRESSION FROM CHAOS TO COHERENCE
SIMPLY A MONOTONIC PROGRESSION,
THE ORDEREDNESS OF THE SYSTEM
CONSISTENTLY INCREASING AND NEVER DECREASING?
THE SYSTEM ADVANCING IN A FAIRLY STRAIGHTFORWARD FASHION
BY WAY OF DIRECT INPUT FROM THE ENVIRONMENT …
THE GREATER THE INPUT, THE BETTER THE RESULT?
OR IS IT PERHAPS LESS DIRECT THAN THAT?
UNPREDICTABLE, ERRATIC, UP AND DOWN?
THE SYSTEM, IN RESPONSE TO ENVIRONMENTAL INPUT,
ADVANCING IN A NONLINEAR FASHION BY WAY OF
ONGOING CYCLES OF DISRUPTION AND REPAIR,
DISORGANIZATION AND ADAPTIVE RECONSTITUTION
AT EVER HIGHER LEVELS
OF ORDER, COMPLEXITY, INTEGRATION, AND COHERENCE …

CHAOS – SEEMING RANDOMNESS BUT AN UNDERLYING ORDER
THAT EMERGES OVER TIME AS THE SYSTEM EVOLVES
A TEMPESTUOUS RAINSTORM, INITIALLY DISORDERED AND CHAOTIC,
MAY GATHER FORCE OVER TIME, BECOMING EVER MORE ORDERED
AND COHERENT (LASER – LIKE IN ITS INTENSITY) AS IT ADVANCES
FROM A TROPICAL STORM TO A CATEGORY 5 HURRICANE
BY VIRTUE OF ITS UNDERLYING (CHAOTIC) STRUCTURE,
A SELF – ORGANIZING SYSTEM WILL EVOLVE
TO EVER INCREASING ORDER, COMPLEXITY, AND COHERENCE
IN RESPONSE TO INPUT FROM THE OUTSIDE
COHERENCE SPEAKS BOTH
TO ORDERED PATTERNING WITHIN A SINGLE SYSTEM
AND TO SYNCHRONIZATION BETWEEN MULTIPLE SYSTEMS
FEMALE ROOMMATES BEGIN TO SYNCHRONIZE THEIR MENSTRUAL CYCLES
THIS SYNCHRONIZATION AN EMERGENT PROPERTY OF A SELF – ORGANIZING SYSTEM
FIREFLIES BEGIN TO FLASH ON AND OFF IN UNISON
PHASE – LOCKING OF BIORHYTHMS
ORDER EMERGES FROM DISORDER AS AN OPEN SYSTEM EVOLVES

ORDER EMERGES FROM DISORDER AS AN OPEN SYSTEM EVOLVES
IN DEFIANCE OF THE SECOND LAW OF THERMODYNAMICS,
WHICH HAS IT THAT CLOSED SYSTEMS WILL TEND
TOWARDS DISORDER AND RANDOMNESS AS THEY DEVOLVE
ENTROPY / THERMODYNAMIC EQUILIBRIUM / DISORGANIZATION /
DESTABILIZATION / DISSIPATION / DEGENERATION
LIFE IS SUSTAINED IN DEFIANCE OF ENTROPY
IN ESSENCE, LIFE IS AN ONGOING STRUGGLE BETWEEN
DISORDER AND ORDEREDNESS
RANDOM DISTRIBUTION AND PRECISELY ORDERED STRUCTURE
THE INEXORABLE FORCE OF ENTROPY AND
THE LIFE – ENHANCING POWER OF SELF – ORGANIZATION
CHAOS AND COHERENCE
ENTROPY – DEVOLVING FROM ORDER TO DISORDER
SELF – ORGANIZATION – EVOLVING FROM DISORDER TO ORDER
THE HALLMARK OF A SYSTEM’S RESILIENCE
IS ITS ABILITY TO SELF – ORGANIZE

COHERENCE
WHEN TWO WAVES MEET, THEY “INTERFERE” WITH EACH ANOTHER
IF THE TWO WAVES ARE OUT OF SYNC (i.e., out of phase),
THE TROUGHS WILL CANCEL OUT THE PEAKS
AND THERE WILL BE NO RESULTING WAVE
(DESTRUCTIVE INTERFERENCE)
BUT IF THE TWO WAVES ARE IN SYNC,
THEIR PEAKS WILL COINCIDE
AND THEY WILL COMBINE TO FORM A BIGGER WAVE
WITH INCREASED AMPLITUDE
(CONSTRUCTIVE INTERFERENCE)
IN THE CASE OF LIGHT WAVES, THIS SYNCHRONICITY
WILL MANIFEST AS INCREASED BRIGHTNESS AND,
WHEN ALL THE LIGHT WAVES ARE SYNCHRONIZED,
WILL ULTIMATELY GENERATE A LASER BEAM
COHERENCE – INCREASED AMPLITUDE
BUT SAME WAVELENGTH AND FREQUENCY

COHERENCE
COHERENCE SPEAKS TO ENERGY WITH A HIGH DEGREE OF ORDER
DISORDER AND DISEASE SPEAK TO A CHRONIC DISRUPTION
IN BIOLOGICAL COHERENCE
A HEALTHY CELL EMITS COHERENT LIGHT
AN UNHEALTHY CELL EMITS CHAOTIC LIGHT
IN ESSENCE, A SYSTEM’S COHERENCE
IS ULTIMATELY A STORY ABOUT THE RESPONSE OF THE SYSTEM
TO THE IMPACT OF THE ENVIRONMENT
THE LIVING MATRIX IS A COMPLEX ADAPTIVE SYSTEM
THAT IS CONTINUOUSLY EVOLVING NONLINEARLY
BY WAY OF ONGOING CYCLES
OF DISRUPTION AND REPAIR
TO EVER HIGHER LEVELS OF ORDER AND COHERENCE
IN RESPONSE TO REGULATORY INPUT FROM THE OUTSIDE
THAT, IN THE MOMENT, EITHER CHALLENGES OR SUPPORTS,
DISRUPTS OR REINFORCES,
OVERWHELMS OR PROMPTS ADAPTATION,
TRAUMATIZES OR OPTIMIZES

THE ABILITY TO PROCESS AND INTEGRATE
ONGOING CYCLES OF OVERWHELM AND ADAPTIVE RECONSTITUTION
CRUCIAL TO THE EVOLUTION OF A LIVING SYSTEM
WILL BE ITS ABILITY TO PROCESS AND INTEGRATE
THE CUMULATIVE IMPACT OF THE MYRIAD OF ENVIRONMENTAL
STRESSORS TO WHICH IT IS BEING CONTINUOUSLY EXPOSED,
WHICH ABILITY WILL BE A STORY ABOUT THE SYSTEM’S UNDERLYING
RESILIENCE, ADAPTABILITY, AND CAPACITY TO SELF – ORGANIZE
STRESSFUL STUFF HAPPENS
BUT IT’S HOW WELL WE ARE ABLE,
PSYCHOLOGICALLY, PHYSIOLOGICALLY, AND ENERGETICALLY,
TO PROCESS AND INTEGRATE ITS IMPACT
THAT WILL MAKE OF IT EITHER A GROWTH – DISRUPTING EVENT
OR A GROWTH – PROMOTING OPPORTUNITY
ONE THAT WILL EITHER FURTHER UNDERMINE
THE INTEGRITY OF AN ALREADY – COMPROMISED SYSTEM
OR FURTHER STRENGTHEN AN ALREADY – RESILIENT SYSTEM

WHAT CONSTITUTES STRESS?
ENVIRONMENTAL STRESSORS ENCOMPASS
THE LIVING AND THE NONLIVING
THE EXTERNAL AND THE INTERNAL
THE PSYCHOLOGICAL, THE PHYSIOLOGICAL, AND THE ENERGETIC
MORE SPECIFICALLY, STRESSORS TAKE THE FORM OF BOTH
TOXICITIES (TOO MUCH BAD) AND
DEFICIENCIES (NOT ENOUGH GOOD)
TOO MANY ANXIETY – PROVOKING INTERPRETATIONS,
NOT ENOUGH ANXIETY – ASSUAGING EMPATHIC INTERVENTIONS
TOO MUCH OXIDATIVE STRESS FROM ELECTRON – SCAVENGING FREE
RADICALS, NOT ENOUGH INHIBITION OF OXIDATION BY ANTIOXIDANTS
TOO MANY ANTIBIOTICS ALTERING THE BALANCE OF HEALTHY FLORA
IN THE GASTROINTESTINAL TRACT, NOT ENOUGH PROBIOTICS AND
PREBIOTICS TO RESTORE THAT BALANCE
TOO MUCH EXPOSURE TO DISSONANT VIBRATIONAL FREQUENCIES,
NOT ENOUGH EXPOSURE TO RESONANT ONES

ENVIRONMENTAL
CHALLENGE
TOXICITIES – PRESENCE OF BAD – TOO MUCH BAD
DEFICIENCIES – ABSENCE OF GOOD – NOT ENOUGH GOOD
ENVIRONMENTAL STRESSORS
IN THE FORM OF BOTH TOXICITIES AND DEFICIENCIES
WILL PROVE ULTIMATELY TO BE EITHER
OVERWHELMING OR TRANSFORMATIVE,
DEPENDING UPON THE SYSTEM’S RESILIENCE,
THAT IS, THE SYSTEM’S ABILITY, AFTER THE INITIAL DISRUPTION,
TO PROCESS AND INTEGRATE THE IMPACT OF THE PERTURBATION
THE VILLAIN IN THE PIECE – TRAUMATIC STRESS
STRESSORS THAT OVERWHELM
THE HEROINE IN THE PIECE – OPTIMAL STRESS
STRESSORS THAT PROVIDE THE IMPETUS FOR TRANSFORMATION

TRAUMATIC STRESS
STRESS THAT THE SYSTEM CANNOT PROCESS
AND MUST THEREFORE DEFEND AGAINST
RESULTING IN TIGHTENING OF MYOFASCIA, RUPTURE OF MYOFIBRILS,
CALCIFICATIONS, MUSCLE CONTRACTURES, AND FORMATION OF TRIGGER POINTS
OPTIMAL STRESS
STRESS THAT THE SYSTEM CAN PROCESS
AND ULTIMATELY ADAPT TO
EVERY – OTHER – DAY STRENGTH TRAINING, MODERATE AEROBIC EXERCISE,
VACCINATIONS, HOMEOPATHIC REMEDIES, “PIN FIRING” OF PARTIALLY HEALED TENDONS,
DEFIBRILLATION TO RESTORE NORMAL SINUS RHYTHM, ELECTROSHOCK THERAPY,
MILD SLEEP DEPRIVATION FOR TEMPORARY RELIEF OF DEPRESSION,
ANXIETY – PROVOKING INTERPRETATIONS TO CHALLENGE OLD DEFENSIVE PATTERNS,
FRAXEL LASER TREATMENTS TO STIMULATE REGENERATION OF FACIAL COLLAGEN,
DEEP TISSUE MASSAGE TO PROMOTE RELEASE AND FLOW,
DESENSITIZATION THERAPIES, DEBRIDEMENT OF WOUNDS TO ACCELERATE HEALING,
PICKING OF PARTIALLY HEALED SCABS TO PROMOTE HEALING, AND
TRIMMING THE FRAYED ENDS OF HAIR TO STIMULATE GROWTH OF THE FOLLICLES

EVOLUTIONARY PROCESSES
THE DEVELOPMENTAL PROCESS
THE THERAPEUTIC PROCESS / THE WORKING – THROUGH PROCESS
THE HEALING PROCESS
THE LEARNING PROCESS
THE THOUGHT PROCESS
THE CREATIVE PROCESS
ALL SUCH TRANSFORMATIVE PROCESSES INVOLVE GRADUAL
EVOLUTION OF A SELF – ORGANIZING SYSTEM
(BE IT THE YOUNG CHILD, THE PATIENT, THE STUDENT,
THE THINKER, OR THE ARTIST) TO EVER MORE COMPLEX
AND NOVEL STRUCTURAL CONFIGURATIONS
THE EVOLUTION OF THESE COMPLEX ADAPTIVE SYSTEMS
INVOLVES WORKING THROUGH RECURSIVE CYCLES
OF DISORGANIZATION AND REORGANIZATION,
DISRUPTION AND REPAIR, CHALLENGE AND RECOVERY,
EACH ITERATION ACCOMPANIED BY ADAPTIVE RECONSTITUTION
AT EVER NEWER BALANCE POINTS
AND EVER HIGHER LEVELS OF
ORDER, COMPLEXITY, INTEGRATION, AND COHERENCE

THE THERAPEUTIC PROCESS
A BELATED PROCESSING OF UNMASTERED TRAUMAS
THE THERAPIST, EVER ATTUNED TO THE PATIENT’S
CAPACITY TO TOLERATE STRESS,
WILL ALTERNATELY CHALLENGE (WHEN POSSIBLE)
AND SUPPORT (WHEN NECESSARY)
CHALLENGE WITH ANXIETY – PROVOKING INTERPRETATIONS
THAT DIRECT THE PATIENT’S ATTENTION TO WHERE SHE ISN’T
SUPPORT WITH ANXIETY – ASSUAGING EMPATHIC INTERVENTIONS
THAT RESONATE WITH WHERE THE PATIENT IS
INTERVENTIONS TO WHICH THE PATIENT WILL RESPOND BY
EITHER BECOMING DEFENSIVE (DISORGANIZING)
OR ADAPTING (RECONSTITUTING AT A HIGHER LEVEL
OF PSYCHOLOGICAL SOPHISTICATION AND EMOTIONAL MATURITY)
AGAIN, WHAT PROMPTS TRANSFORMATION AND GROWTH?
THE EXPERIENCE OF GRATIFICATION?
OR THE EXPERIENCE OF WORKING THROUGH (OPTIMAL) FRUSTRATION?

THE THERAPEUTIC PROCESS
THE THERAPIST, EVER ATTUNED TO THE PATIENT’S
CAPACITY TO TOLERATE STRESS,
CHALLENGE WITH ANXIETY – PROVOKING INTERPRETATIONS
IN AN EFFORT TO AWAKEN / TRIGGER
SELF – REGULATORY, COMPENSATORY, HOMEOSTATIC MECHANISMS
THAT WILL PROMPT THE BODY ADAPTIVELY TO RECONSTITUTE
AT A HIGHER LEVEL OF
PSYCHOLOGICAL SOPHISTICATION AND EMOTIONAL MATURITY
SUPPORT WITH ANXIETY – ASSUAGING EMPATHIC INTERVENTIONS
IN AN EFFORT TO FACILITATE THAT PROCESS
AGAIN, WHAT PROMPTS TRANSFORMATION AND GROWTH?
IS IT SIMPLY REGULATORY INPUT FROM THE OUTSIDE (SUPPORT)
THAT PROMOTES GROWTH AND HEALING?
OR IS IT THE WORKING THROUGH OF DISRUPTIONS
OCCASIONED BY THAT REGULATORY INPUT (CHALLENGE)
THAT PROMOTES GROWTH AND HEALING?

MODES OF PSYCHOTHERAPEUTIC ACTION
THE INTERPRETIVE PERSPECTIVE IS A STORY ABOUT
TRANSFORMING THE NEED TO RESIST KNOWLEDGE OF THE SELF
INTO THE CAPACITY FOR SELF – AWARENESS AND INSIGHT
(AS RESISTANCE IS WORKED THROUGH AND OVERCOME)
THE CORRECTIVE – PROVISION PERSPECTIVE IS A STORY ABOUT
TRANSFORMING THE NEED TO AVOID THE PAIN OF DISAPPOINTMENT
IN OTHERS INTO THE CAPACITY TO ACCEPT THEM AS THEY ARE
AND TO FORGIVE THEM (AS RELENTLESS HOPE AND
THE REFUSAL TO GRIEVE ARE WORKED THROUGH AND RELINQUISHED)
THE RELATIONAL PERSPECTIVE IS A STORY ABOUT TRANSFORMING
THE UNCONSCIOUS NEED TO PLAY OUT IN RELATIONSHIP
UNRESOLVED CHILDHOOD DRAMAS INTO THE CAPACITY
TO TAKE OWNERSHIP OF THESE UNWITTING RE – ENACTMENTS
(AS THE ENTANGLEMENTS THAT WILL INEVITABLY EMERGE
AT THE INTIMATE EDGE OF AUTHENTIC ENGAGEMENT
ARE MUTUALLY NEGOTIATED AND RESOLVED)
MENTAL HEALTH – WISDOM, ACCEPTANCE, ACCOUNTABILITY

EMDR BY DAY / REM BY NIGHT
THE HALLMARK OF POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER IS DISSOCIATION
AND COMPARTMENTALIZATION OF THE TRAUMA IN THE BODY’S TISSUES,
BECAUSE IT IS SIMPLY TOO TOXIC TO BE PROCESSED AND INTEGRATED
“THE BODY REMEMBERS EVEN WHEN THE PATIENT DOES NOT.”
Bessel van der Kolk, M.D.
EYE MOVEMENT DESENSITIZATION AND REPROCESSING (EMDR)
RESOLVES TRAUMA BECAUSE STIMULATING ALTERNATELY AND
RHYTHMICALLY THE TWO SIDES OF THE BRAIN IS THOUGHT
TO FACILITATE THE FLOW OF INFORMATION AND ENERGY
WITHIN THE BODY, THEREBY ENABLING BELATED PROCESSING AND
INTEGRATION OF UNMASTERED TRAUMAS STORED IN THE RIGHT BRAIN
SO TOO RAPID EYE MOVEMENT (REM) SLEEP
IS THOUGHT TO DILUTE INCREMENTALLY THE TOXICITY
OF UNPROCESSED MEMORIES AND TO FACILITATE MASTERY
OF UNRESOLVED DAY RESIDUE BY BRINGING TO BEAR
THE RATIONALITY OF THE LINEAR LEFT BRAIN (A SERIAL PROCESSOR)
ON THE MORE IRRATIONAL NONLINEAR RIGHT BRAIN (A PARALLEL
PROCESSOR), WHERE THE UNMASTERED MATERIAL RESIDES

THE CAPACITY TO
COPE WITH STRESS
THE CAPACITY TO TOLERATE STRESS IS ULTIMATELY A STORY
ABOUT THE SYSTEM’S ABILITY TO PROCESS AND INTEGRATE
THE IMPACT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PERTURBATION,
WHICH WILL BE A REFLECTION OF THE UNDERLYING
ORDEREDNESS AND FLUIDITY OF THE LIVING SYSTEM
AND THE EASE WITH WHICH
REGULATORY INFORMATION AND VIBRATORY ENERGY
CAN BE PROPAGATED THROUGHOUT ITS EXPANSE
LACK OF ORDER AND DISRUPTED EASE OF FLOW
MANIFESTING AS “DIS – ORDER” AND “DIS – EASE”

CONTINUOUS ADJUSTMENT TO INSTABILITY
IMPLICIT IN THIS CONCEPTUALIZATION OF SELF – REGULATION
BY A SYSTEM THAT IS ORDERED AND FLUID
IS THE COMPELLING IDEA THAT
A LIVING SYSTEM WILL BE ABLE TO PRESERVE ITS STABILITY
ONLY BY WAY OF CONTINUOUS ADJUSTMENT TO INSTABILITY
“THE ABILITY TO SURVIVE CHANGE BY CHANGING”
DONELLA MEADOWS (1997) – A SYSTEMS ANALYST
PARADOXICAL DISCOVERY
THE GREATER THE HEART RATE VARIABILITY,
THE MORE LIKELY THE FETUS WOULD BE TO SURVIVE
Hon EH. Electronic evaluation of the fetal heart rate patterns preceding fetal death: further observation.
Amn J of Ob Gyn 1965;87:814-826
HEALTH SPEAKS TO THE CAPACITY CONTINUOUSLY TO ADJUST
TO ONGOING ENVIRONMENTAL PERTURBATION
AND ADAPTIVELY TO REORGANIZE AT EVER NEWER
HOMEOSTATIC SET POINTS

HOMEOSTASIS
WALTER B. CANNON – The Wisdom of the Body (1932)
HANS SELYE – The Stress of Life (1956)
THE BODY’S INNATE ABILITY TO PRESERVE,
BY WAY OF A COMPLEX SERIES OF MICROADJUSTMENTS,
THE CONSTANCY OF ITS INTERNAL ENVIRONMENT
IN THE FACE OF ONGOING CHALLENGE
ENVIRONMENTAL CHALLENGE
PROMPTS THE BODY TO EMPLOY ALL MANNER OF
COMPENSATORY, ADAPTIVE, AND REGULATORY MECHANISMS
IN AN EFFORT TO RESTORE ITS HOMEOSTATIC BALANCE
ADAPTATION SPEAKS TO THE BODY’S CAPACITY
CONTINUOUSLY TO ADJUST TO THE IMPACT OF
ENVIRONMENTAL THREAT BY RECONSTITUTING AGAIN AND AGAIN
AT EVER NEWER HOMEOSTATIC SET POINTS AND
EVER HIGHER LEVELS OF ORDER, COMPLEXITY, AND INTEGRATION
HOMEOSTASIS IS ULTIMATELY A STORY ABOUT
THE WISDOM OF THE BODY – THE WISDOM OF THE MATRIX

GROUND REGULATION SYSTEM
OR LIVING MATRIX
ALBERT SZENT – GYORGYI, HARTMUT HEINE, ALBERT PISCHINGER,
ROBERT BECKER, FRITZ – ALBERT POPP, AND JAMES OSCHMAN –
RESEARCH SCIENTISTS DEDICATED TO UNDERSTANDING,
ON BOTH MOLECULAR AND SUBMOLECULAR LEVELS,
THE COMPLEX WORKINGS OF THE HIGH – SPEED, BODY – WIDE
INFORMATION AND ENERGY DISSEMINATION SYSTEM
RESPONSIBLE FOR THE MAINTENANCE OF HOMEOSTASIS
VARIOUSLY DESCRIBED AS THE GROUND REGULATION SYSTEM,
THE EXTRACELLULAR MATRIX, THE CONNECTIVE TISSUE MATRIX,
AND THE LIVING MATRIX
A VAST INTERCONNECTED NETWORK OF MOLECULES WITHIN WHICH
ALL THE BODY’S CELLS, TISSUES, AND ORGANS ARE EMBEDDED
AND THROUGH WHICH THE FLOW OF LIFE TAKES PLACE
THE LIVING MATRIX CONSTITUTES A BODY CONSCIOUSNESS
WORKING IN TANDEM WITH THE BRAIN CONSCIOUSNESS
OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM

HOMEOSTASIS WAS THOUGHT BY CANNON AND SELYE
TO INVOLVE REGULATORY ORGAN SYSTEMS
(ESPECIALLY THE NERVOUS AND ENDOCRINE SYSTEMS)
BUT ALFRED PISCHINGER WAS ABLE TO DEMONSTRATE THAT
NERVE ENDINGS AND CAPILLARY BEDS NEVER
ACTUALLY HAVE DIRECT CONTACT WITH FUNCTIONING CELLS,
THAT THE NERVOUS AND ENDOCRINE SYSTEMS COMMUNICATE WITH
THESE CELLS ONLY BY WAY OF THE GROUND REGULATION SYSTEM
Pischinger A. Matrix and Matrix Regulation: Basis for a Holistic Theory in Medicine, 1991
FROM THIS IT FOLLOWS THAT THE MORE FLUID THE FLOW OF
INFORMATION AND ENERGY THROUGH THE LIVING MATRIX, THE MORE
EFFECTIVE THE RELAYING OF CHEMICAL MESSAGES BETWEEN
THE REGULATORY ORGAN SYSTEMS AND THE PARENCHYMAL CELLS
EVEN THOUGH LOWER ANIMALS LACK NERVOUS SYSTEMS,
THEY HAVE GROUND REGULATION SYSTEMS
AND ARE ABLE BOTH TO HEAL THEMSELVES AND TO GROW
HOMEOSTASIS IS ULTIMATELY A STORY ABOUT
THE GROUND REGULATION SYSTEM / THE LIVING MATRIX

CONNECTIVE TISSUE OR EXTRACELLULAR MATRIX
A STRUCTURAL, FUNCTIONAL, AND ENERGETIC CONTINUUM
THAT CONSTITUTES THE MATRIX OF LIFE
AN INTRICATE WEB OF INFORMATION AND ENERGY
PHYSIOLOGY / BIOCHEMISTRY / BIOELECTROMAGNETISM / BIOPHYSICS
QUANTUM MECHANICS / ENERGY MEDICINE / COMPLEXITY THEORY
Per Bak – How Nature Works: The Science of Self-Organized Criticality
Robert Becker – The Body Electric: Electromagnetism and the Foundation of Life
Jeffrey Bland – Genetic Nutritioneering
Gregg Braden – The Divine Matrix: Bridging Time, Space, Miracles, and Belief
Masaru Emoto – The Hidden Messages in Water
Hartmut Heine – Homotoxicology and The Ground Regulation System
Mae-Wan Ho – The Rainbow and the Worm: The Physics of Organisms
Lynne McTaggart – The Field: Quest for the Secret Force of the Universe
James Oschman – Energy Medicine: The Scientific Basis
Candace Pert – Molecules of Emotion: Why You Feel the Way You Do
Alfred Pischinger – Matrix and Matrix Regulation: Basis for a Holistic Theory in Medicine
Fritz-Albert Popp – Integrative Biophysics: Biophotonics
Gary Schwartz – The Living Energy Universe
Albert Szent-Gyorgyi – Introduction to a Submolecular Biology

THE MATRIX
THE MATRIX IS A HIGHLY ORDERED CONTINUUM
A REGULATORY MEDIUM THAT PLACES A PREMIUM
ON DYNAMIC EQUILIBRIUM
ANY DISRUPTION BY PERTURBATION
PROMPTS ADAPTATION BY COMPENSATION
SUCH THAT HEALTH CAN BE OPTIMUM
AND “DIS – ORDER” MINIMUM
Martha Stark (2007)

BAD HEALTH
DIS – ORDER AND DIS – EASE
THE FLOW OF REGULATORY INFORMATION AND
VIBRATORY ENERGY THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE SYSTEM
IS NECESSARY TO SUPPORT
THE PROCESSING AND INTEGRATION
OF ENVIRONMENTAL CHALLENGE AND
THE PRESERVATION OF HOMEOSTATIC BALANCE
THE MORE ORDERED THE CRYSTALLINE MATRIX
THE MORE COHERENT ITS STRUCTURE
THE MORE FLUID ITS FLOW
OPTIMAL HEALTH
ORDEREDNESS AND EASE OF FLOW

DIFFERENT LEXICONS
BUT A SHARED DREAM
UNITS OF INFORMATION AND ENERGY
ELECTRONS / PROTONS / SOLITONS /
BIOPHOTONS / ENERGY QUANTA /
DISCONTINUOUS PARTICLES / CONTINUOUS WAVES
TRANSPORT SYSTEM
COLLAGEN FIBRILS OUTSIDE THE CELLS /
MICROTUBULES INSIDE THE CELLS /
SUGAR – PROTEIN MACROMOLECULES IN THE GROUND SUBSTANCE
(PROTEOGLYCANS AND GLYCOSAMINOGLYCANS) /
LAYERS OF PRECISELY ORDERED WATER MOLECULES /
THE PERINEURAL DIRECT CURRENT SYSTEM /
ELECTROMAGNETIC BIOFIELDS / THE BIOPHOTON FIELD /
ACUPUNCTURE MERIDIANS (TRADITIONAL CHINESE MEDICINE) /
ENERGY CHANNELS
SPEED OF PROPAGATION
SPEED OF SEMICONDUCTIVITY / SPEED OF LIGHT
COMMON GOAL – TO UNRAVEL THE SECRET OF LIFE

CRYSTALLINITY
EXTRACELLULAR MATRIX
COMPRISED OF A CONTINUOUS MESHWORK OF COLLAGEN FIBRILS
AND AN AMORPHOUS COLLOIDAL GROUND SUBSTANCE
(CONTAINING LARGE SUGAR – PROTEIN COMPLEXES)
IN PRECISE AND INTIMATE RELATIONSHIP WITH
ORGANIZED LAYERS OF ELECTRICALLY CHARGED WATER
BECAUSE THE LIVING MATRIX IS A HIGHLY ORDERED
ARRAY OF MOLECULES DENSELY PACKED AND TIGHTLY ORGANIZED
IN A CRYSTAL – LIKE LATTICE STRUCTURE,
IT HAS THE SEMICONDUCTING PROPERTIES OF A
LIQUID CRYSTAL
WHICH MAKES OF IT AN IDEAL CANDIDATE FOR THE HIGH – SPEED
PROPAGATION OF REGULATORY INFORMATION
AND VIBRATORY ENERGY THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE BODY
THE HEALTH AND VITALITY OF THE BODY’S CELLS ARE ENTIRELY
DEPENDENT UPON THE HEALTH AND VITALITY OF THIS MATRIX

PIEZOELECTRICITY
PRESSURE ELECTRICITY
OSCILLATING BIOELECTRIC SIGNALS
ARE GENERATED WHENEVER MECHANICAL STRESS
IS APPLIED TO ANY PART OF THE CONNECTIVE TISSUE FABRIC
e.g., muscles contract, vessels pulsate, skin stretches
THESE VIBRATIONAL FREQUENCIES,
ALONG WITH THE ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELDS
GENERATED BY THE HEART AND BRAIN,
CONSTITUTE A GLOBAL ENERGETIC COMMUNICATION NETWORK
THAT REGULATES HOMEOSTATIC BALANCE WITHIN THE BODY
A HEALTHY MATRIX WILL BE CHARACTERIZED BY
EASE OF FLOW OF INFORMATION AND ENERGY
AND WILL THEREFORE EMIT COHERENT SIGNALS
AN UNHEALTHY MATRIX WILL BE CHARACTERIZED BY
OBSTRUCTED FLOW OF INFORMATION AND ENERGY
AND WILL THEREFORE EMIT CHAOTIC SIGNALS

EXCITABILITY
THE COMPONENTS OF THE LIVING MATRIX ARE POISED
TO ABSORB INCOMING INFORMATION AND ENERGY,
TO STORE IT, AND TO PROPAGATE IT
EVERY ELEMENT OF THE EXCITABLE MEDIUM
BECOMES A SOURCE OF ENERGY
TO MAINTAIN THE PROPAGATION
THERE IS NO HIERARCHY OF CONTROL,
NO ONE ELEMENT MORE CENTRAL THAN ANOTHER
THE DIRECT CURRENTS GENERATED IN THE MATRIX ARE A RESULT
NOT OF THE RELATIVELY SLOW MOVEMENT
OF RELATIVELY CUMBERSOME CHARGED ATOMS
ACROSS THE MEMBRANE OF A NERVE CELL,
WHICH BECOMES FIRST DEPOLARIZED AND THEN REPOLARIZED
AS AN ELECTRIC IMPULSE PASSES DOWN ITS LENGTH
AT A SPEED OF CONDUCTIVITY
RANGING FROM 1.5 – 400 FEET / SECOND
BUT …

EXCITABILITY
… OF THE NEAR – INSTANTANEOUS MOVEMENT
OF SUBATOMIC CHARGED PARTICLES
THROUGH A VIBRATORY NETWORK
OF INTERLOCKING COMPONENTS,
A HIGHLY ORDERED LIQUID CRYSTALLINE MATRIX,
WHICH IS ALWAYS POLARIZED AND ABLE
TO PROPAGATE WAVES AT LIGHTNING – FAST SPEED
WHEREAS THE SPEED OF CONDUCTIVITY OF AN ACTION POTENTIAL
DOWN A NERVE AXON RANGES FROM 1.5 – 400 FEET / SECOND,
THE SPEED OF PROPAGATION OF A DIRECT CURRENT
THROUGH THE LIVING MATRIX IS CLOSER TO
THE SPEED OF LIGHT – 186,000 MILES / SECOND
“THE DIRECT CURRENTS MAKING UP THE BODY FIELD
ARE NOT DUE TO CHARGED IONS
BUT INSTEAD DEPEND ON A MODE OF SEMICONDUCTION
CHARACTERISTIC OF SOLID – STATE SYSTEMS.”
ROBERT BECKER – The Body Electric (1998)

EMERGENT PROPERTIES
ESSENTIAL PROPERTIES OF THE MATRIX
INTERDEPENDENCE
ABILITY TO MAINTAIN HOMEOSTATIC BALANCE
SELF – REGULATORY CAPACITY
ORDEREDNESS
ADAPTABILITY
RESILIENCE
COHERENCE
TENSEGRITY – TENSILE STRENGTH LENDING STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY
(DYNAMIC BALANCE BETWEEN TENSION AND COMPRESSION)
CRYSTALLINITY
SEMICONDUCTIVITY
PIEZOELECTRICITY
EXCITABILITY
DYNAMIC MEMORY
INTERACTIVE SYNERGY BETWEEN THE INDIVIDUAL
COMPONENTS SUCH THAT THE WHOLE IS TRULY
GREATER THAN THE SUM OF ITS PARTS

THE LIVING MATRIX “GIVES MEANING”
TO THE CONCEPT OF
A FUNCTIONAL MEDICINE MATRIX
ON A MICROSCOPIC LEVEL IS THE LIVING MATRIX
BUT IT MANIFESTS ON A MACROSCOPIC LEVEL
AS THE FUNCTIONAL MEDICINE MATRIX
THE INTERDEPENDENCE OF THE VARIOUS COMPONENTS
OF THE LIVING MATRIX MAKES POSSIBLE
THE VERY EXISTENCE OF THE FUNCTIONAL MEDICINE MATRIX
THE “MATRIX” THEREFORE REFERS TO THE
DYNAMIC ORDER THAT EXTENDS FROM THE
MICROSCOPIC TO THE MACROSCOPIC

ORDEREDNESS AND EASE
OF FLOW WITHIN THE MATRIX
THE THERAPEUTIC ACTION INVOLVES FACILITATING
THE FLOW OF INFORMATION AND ENERGY
THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE FABRIC OF THE BODY
IN ORDER TO FACILITATE THE SYSTEM’S
PROCESSING AND INTEGRATING
OF ENVIRONMENTAL CHALLENGE
THE MORE ORDERED THE CRYSTALLINE MATRIX
THE MORE FLUID WILL BE ITS FLOW
THE MORE COHERENT WILL BE ITS ENERGETIC SIGNALS
THE MORE OPTIMAL WILL BE ITS FUNCTIONALITY
THE MORE BALANCED AND HARMONIOUS WILL BE
ITS OVERALL HEALTH AND VITALITY
GOOD HEALTH IS A STORY ABOUT ORDEREDNESS AND EASE OF FLOW
BAD HEALTH IS A STORY ABOUT DIS – ORDER AND DIS – EASE
(DISRUPTED ORDER AND DISRUPTED EASE OF FLOW)

TO OPTIMIZE THE EASE OF FLOW
OF INFORMATION AND ENERGY
THROUGHOUT THE MATRIX
UNCONGESTED
WELL – HYDRATED
NUTRIENT – RICH
WELL – OXYGENATED
ALKALINE
NEGATIVELY CHARGED
ADEQUATELY METHYLATED
ENERGETICALLY UNBLOCKED
WELL – BALANCED
RELAXED
STRUCTURALLY ALIGNED
A HEALTHY CLEAR MENTAL FIELD
UNEMCUMBERED BY DISRUPTIVE “IMPRINTING” OF
PSYCHOLOGICAL TRAUMA AND EMOTIONAL DEPRIVATION
THE CELLS REMEMBER, THE TISSUES REMEMBER, THE BODY REMEMBERS

THERAPEUTIC INTERVENTIONS
TO RESTORE HOMEOSTASIS
IF PRESENCE OF BAD, MUST DETOXIFY (e.g., CHELATION)
TO LIGHTEN THE TOTAL BODY LOAD
IF ABSENCE OF GOOD, MUST SUPPLEMENT (e.g., OXYGEN THERAPY)
TO REPLENISH THE TOTAL BODY RESERVES
SOME INTERVENTIONS BOTH DETOXIFY AND SUPPLEMENT
(e.g., FAR INFRARED SAUNAS, DEEP TISSUE MASSAGES, COLONICS,
LYMPHATIC DRAINAGE, ACUPUNCTURE),
ALL WITH AN EYE TO RESTORING THE EASE OF FLOW
OF REGULATORY INFORMATION AND VIBRATORY ENERGY
AND TO BOLSTERING THE SYSTEM’S CAPACITY
TO PROCESS AND INTEGRATE
THE IMPACT OF ENVIRONMENTAL IMPINGEMENT
AND ADAPTIVELY TO RECONSTITUTE AT EVER HIGHER LEVELS
LIGHTENING THE BODY LOAD AND REPLENISHING THE BODY RESERVES
WILL REINFORCE THE SYSTEM’S RESILIENCE AND
CAPACITY TO TOLERATE THE STRESS(ORS) OF LIFE

WHEN THE BODY LOAD IS EXCEEDED
AND THE NUTRIENT RESERVES DEPLETED
WHEN ENERGY FLOW IS OBSTRUCTED
AND HOMEOSTASIS DISRUPTED
TO REVERSE TOXICITY AND DEFICIENCY
AND RESTORE ADAPTABILITY AND FUNCTIONALITY
TREAT THE MATRIX IN WHICH THE CELLS ARE CONGREGATED
TO GET THE BODY ONCE AGAIN REGULATED
Martha Stark (2008)

RAIN BARREL MODEL
DEVELOPED BY WILLIAM J. REA, M.D.
HISTORICALLY THE CONCEPT OF THE RAIN BARREL HAS BEEN
ADVANCED TO OFFER A VISUAL REPRESENTATION OF THE
CUMULATIVE IMPACT OVER TIME OF STRESS ON THE BODY
THE CAPACITY OF THE BARREL SPEAKS TO THE BODY’S
CAPACITY TO TOLERATE ENVIRONMENTAL STRESSORS,
OVERT CLINICAL SYMPTOMS MANIFESTING ONLY ONCE
THE POINT OF TOXIC ACCUMULATION HAS BEEN REACHED
AND THE BARREL HAS BECOME FILLED TO OVERFLOWING
IN OTHER WORDS, ONE CRITICAL POINT OF OVERFLOW
BUT THE SANDPILE MODEL INVOLVES A SERIES OF
MINOR COLLAPSES AND ADAPTIVE RECONSTITUTIONS,
A SERIES OF CRITICAL POINTS, A SERIES OF ONGOING
DISRUPTIONS AND COMPENSATORY MICROADJUSTMENTS
AND IS PROBABLY A MORE ACCURATE REFLECTION
OF THE COMPLEX ORDEREDNESS OF REAL LIFE

STRESS PROMPTS BOTH
DISRUPTION AND REPAIR
THE GRAINS OF SAND ARE THE OCCASION
FOR BOTH PARTIAL COLLAPSE AND
ADAPTIVE RE – EQUILIBRATION AT A NEW SET POINT
NOT ONLY WILL ENVIRONMENTAL STRESSORS
PRECIPITATE BREAKDOWN OF THE SYSTEM
BUT THEY WILL BE THE MEANS BY WHICH THE SYSTEM
WILL BE ABLE TO BUILD ITSELF BACK UP
THIS TIME AT A HIGHER LEVEL

SANDPILE MODEL
A WONDERFUL VISUAL METAPHOR
FOR THE EVOLUTION
OF A SELF – ORGANIZING SYSTEM
AND OFFERS A DRAMATIC DEPICTION OF THE
PARADOXICAL IMPACT OF STRESS ON THE BODY
A COMPLEX ADAPTIVE SYSTEM
CONTINUOUSLY EVOLVES TO EVER HIGHER LEVELS
NOT JUST IN SPITE OF STRESSFUL INPUT
BUT BY WAY OF THAT STRESSFUL INPUT
STRONGER AT THE BROKEN PLACES
WHAT DOESN’T KILL YOU, ONLY MAKES YOU STRONGER

PEAKS – DISRUPTIONS – TROUGHS – RECONSTITUTIONS
THE SANDPILE MODEL – A STORY ABOUT MINOR AVALANCHES,
FROM WHICH THE SYSTEM WILL BE ABLE TO RECOVER BY VIRTUE OF
ITS ABILITY TO ADAPT TO THE IMPACT OF THE GRAINS OF SAND
(ENVIRONMENTAL STRESSORS) BEING ADDED TO THE SANDPILE
AND MAJOR AVALANCHES, CATACLYSMIC
SANDPILE – FLATTENING EVENTS, FROM WHICH THE SYSTEM
WILL BE ABLE TO RECOVER ONLY WITH GREAT DIFFICULTY
MORE GENERALLY, AS OPEN SYSTEMS EVOLVE,
IN RESPONSE TO REGULATORY INPUT FROM THE OUTSIDE,
THEY WILL ADVANCE NONLINEARLY
THROUGH CYCLES OF DISRUPTION AND REPAIR –
PEAKS, DISRUPTIONS, TROUGHS, AND RECONSTITUTIONS
(MORE ACCURATELY, RECONSTITUTION OR EVEN FURTHER DECLINE)
LIVING SYSTEMS ARE BALANCED PRECARIOUSLY
AT THE EDGE OF CHAOS, AT THE TIPPING POINT,
IN THE SPACETIME BETWEEN ORDER AND CHAOS
OR, IN THE WORDS OF PER BAK,
“PERPETUALLY OUT–OF–BALANCE, BUT ORGANIZED IN A POISED STATE”

PEAKS – DISRUPTIONS – TROUGHS – RECONSTITUTIONS
ONCE A SYSTEM, IN RESPONSE TO ENVIRONMENTAL CHALLENGE,
BEGINS TO COLLAPSE,
IT WILL PASS THROUGH A SERIES OF BIFURCATION POINTS
THESE CRITICAL JUNCTURES ARE “MOMENTS OF TRUTH”
DURING WHICH TIME THE SYSTEM WILL EITHER
BREAK DOWN FURTHER, AS IT DEVOLVES TOWARDS
EVER GREATER DISORDER AND CHAOS,
OR ADAPT, AS IT RECONSTITUTES AT
EVER HIGHER LEVELS OF ORDER AND COHERENCE
THEREFORE EVERY CRITICAL JUNCTURE, EVERY BIFURCATION POINT,
HOLDS THE POSSIBILITIY OF EITHER
FURTHER DESTABILIZATION AND CHAOTIC DISORGANZATION
OR ADAPTIVE RESTABILIZATION AND INCREASED COHERENCE
ANYONE WHO HAS EVER WITNESSED AN ELDERLY PERSON
BEGINNING TO COLLAPSE ENERGETICALLY
WILL UNDERSTAND EXACTLY THIS PHENOMENON OF
PAUSE, FALL FURTHER, PAUSE, FALL FURTHER STILL,
LIKE A BALL BOUNCING DOWN A SET OF STAIRS
(NOT LIKE A BALL ROLLING DOWN A RAMP)

THE WISDOM OF THE MATRIX
THE FINELY TUNED CAPACITY OF THE GROUND REGULATION SYSTEM
TO MOBILIZE ITS DEFENSIVE AND ADAPTIVE RESOURCES
TO PRESERVE HOMEOSTATIC BALANCE IN THE BODY
IN THE FACE OF ENVIRONMENTAL CHALLENGE
THE CAPACITY TO SELF – ORGANIZE,
THEREBY TRANSFORMING CHAOS INTO COHERENCE
THE SYSTEM IS BALANCED PRECARIOUSLY AT THE EDGE OF CHAOS,
IN A STATE OF ONLY SEEMING EQUILIBRIUM (METASTABILITY)
ENVIRONMENTAL STRESSORS
PROMPT DISRUPTION OF THE STATUS QUO
AND PRECIPITATE A DECLINE
(A MINOR AVALANCHE)
AT EACH BIFURCATION POINT ALONG THE DECLINE,
THE SYSTEM WILL EITHER FURTHER COLLAPSE TOWARDS
EVER INCREASING CHAOS AND DISORDER (A MAJOR AVALANCHE)
OR ADAPTIVELY RECONSTITUTE
AT EVER HIGHER LEVELS OF COHERENCE AND HEALTH

STRESSFUL STUFF HAPPENS
WHETHER THE PRIMARY TARGET IS THE MIND OR THE BODY,
THE CRITICAL ISSUE WILL BE
THE ABILITY OF THE SYSTEM TO PROCESS AND INTEGRATE
THE IMPACT OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL PERTUBATION
TOO MUCH STRESS – TRAUMATIC STRESS
WILL BE TOO OVERWHELMING TO PROCESS AND INTEGRATE,
PROMPTING INSTEAD DEFENSE, DISORDER, AND DISEASE
TOO LITTLE STRESS WILL PROVIDE
NO IMPETUS FOR TRANSFORMATION AND GROWTH,
SERVING INSTEAD SIMPLY TO REINFORCE THE STATUS QUO
BUT JUST THE RIGHT AMOUNT OF STRESS – OPTIMAL STRESS
WILL PROVIDE THE CHALLENGE NEEDED
TO PROMPT ADAPTIVE RECONSTITUTION BY THE MATRIX
AT EVER HIGHER LEVELS
OF ORDER, COMPLEXITY, INTEGRATION, AND COHERENCE

REGULATORY INPUT FROM THE OUTSIDE:
WHAT MAKES IT GOOD?
WHAT MAKES IT BAD?
“THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A MEDICATION AND A POISON
IS THE DOSAGE THEREOF.”
PARACELSUS
WHAT MAKES AN AGENT THERAPEUTIC? WHAT MAKES IT TOXIC?
WE MUST CONSIDER BOTH THE PRIMARY ACTION OF THE AGENT
AND THE SECONDARY REACTION OF THE SYSTEM
AN AGENT IS INHERENTLY NEITHER “GOOD” NOR “BAD”
RATHER, IT’S HOW THE AGENT ULTIMATELY IMPACTS THE SYSTEM
(i.e., THE SYSTEM’S ABILITY TO PROCESS AND INTEGRATE THAT IMPACT)
THAT WILL MAKE THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN
A THERAPEUTIC OUTCOME AND A TOXIC OUTCOME
AND MAKE OF THE AGENT EITHER A MEDICATION OR A POISON
PROZAC CAN BE MEDICATION OR POISON
ARSENIC CAN BE MEDICATION OR POISON

REGULATORY INPUT FROM THE OUTSIDE:
WHAT MAKES IT GOOD?
WHAT MAKES IT BAD?
ALL REGULATORY INPUT FROM THE OUTSIDE
(BE IT ULTIMATELY GOOD OR BAD)
PROMPTS INITIAL DISRUPTION OF THE STATUS QUO
(BE THAT EXISTING STATE CHAOTIC OR COHERENT)
AND, AT EACH BIFURCATION POINT
AS THE SYSTEM BEGINS ITS DECLINE,
EITHER ADAPTIVE REORGANIZATION
OR FURTHER DISORGANIZATION AND DECLINE
A COMPLEX MIX OF FACTORS,
INCLUDING THE DOSAGE OF THE AGENT
AND THE UNDERLYING RESILIENCE OF THE SYSTEM,
WILL DETERMINE THE FINAL OUTCOME,
THAT IS, WHETHER THE SYSTEM
WILL BE ABLE TO BENEFIT FROM THE INTERVENTION
OR WHETHER THE INTERVENTION
WILL PROMPT FURTHER DECLINE

MECHANISM OF ACTION OF
FREQUENCY – SPECIFIC MICROCURRENT?
IS IT SIMPLY DIRECT STIMULATION OF ATP PRODUCTION
BY THE APPLICATION OF
PHYSIOLOGIC LEVELS OF SUBSENSORY MICROCURRENT?
OR DOES THE THERAPEUTIC ACTION INVOLVE INITIAL DISRUPTION
OF ATP PRODUCTION IN RESPONSE TO THE MICROCURRENT
AND THEN AN ADAPTATION TO THAT STRESS
BY WAY OF AN INCREASED PRODUCTION OF ATP?
IN ESSENCE, DOES FSM PROVIDE DIRECT STIMULATION OF HEALING
IN A LINEAR FASHION? OR IS THE PROCESS MORE A NONLINEAR ONE
CHARACTERIZED BY A COMPLEX SERIES OF
RECURSIVE CYCLES OF DISORGANIZATION AND REORGANIZATION
AS THE INJURED TISSUE ADVANCES FROM CHAOS TO COHERENCE?
IN OTHER WORDS, DOES FSM FUNCTION AS AN OPTIMAL STRESSOR?
INITIALLY PROMPTING DESTABILIZATION AND ONLY LATER PROMOTING
HEALING AS THE DISEASED TISSUE ADAPTS TO THE IMPACT OF THE
ENVIRONMENTAL STRESSOR (FSM) BY RESTABILIZING AT A HIGHER
LEVEL OF COMPLEXITY, FUNCTIONALITY, AND VITALITY

FSM: FROM CHAOS TO COHERENCE
DEDICATED TO DR. CAROL McMAKIN
STIMULATING WITH PHYSIOLOGIC MICROCURRENTS
DAMAGED TISSUES WITH PATHOLOGIC BIORESONANCE
PROMPTS EVENTUAL VIBRATIONAL REALIGNMENT
BY A PROCESS OF ENERGETIC ENTRAINMENT
SUCH THAT CHAOS ORGANIZES TO COHERENCE
OR IS IT THAT WEAK CURRENTS
CREATE FIRST A DISTURBANCE
AND THEN A COMPENSATORY
AND SELF – REGULATORY
EMERGENCE OF COHERENCE?
Martha Stark (2009)

MECHANISM OF ACTION OF
FREQUENCY – SPECIFIC MICROCURRENT
AGAIN – IS IT REGULATORY INPUT FROM THE OUTSIDE
THAT DIRECTLY PROMOTES GROWTH AND HEALING?
OR IS IT THE SYSTEM’S WORKING THROUGH OF DISRUPTIONS
OCCASIONED BY THAT STRESSFUL INPUT
THAT INDIRECTLY PROMOTES GROWTH AND HEALING?
GRATIFICATION? OR WORKING THROUGH OF FRUSTRATION?
IN ANY EVENT, IT WOULD SEEM THAT APPLICATION OF THE
CORRECT MICROCURRENT TO AN INJURED SITE
AUGMENTS THE ENDOGENOUS FLOW OF CURRENT,
ALLOWING THE TRAUMATIZED AREA TO REGAIN ITS CAPACITANCE
THE RESISTANCE OF THE INJURED TISSUE IS THEN REDUCED,
ALLOWING BIOELECTRICITY TO ENTER
THE DAMAGED AREA TO RE-ESTABLISH HOMEOSTASIS
SO WHATEVER THE UNDERLYING MECHANISM,
ULTIMATELY FSM WOULD APPEAR TO PROVIDE THE BODY
WITH THE CORRECT INFORMATION AND ENERGY NEEDED TO RESTORE
ITS INNATE CAPACITY TO HEAL ITSELF
AND TO BRING ITSELF BACK INTO HOMEOSTATIC BALANCE
IN ESEENCE, A REBOOTING OF THE SYSTEM
ELECTROMEDICINE REVITALIZES THE BODY’S OWN ABILITY TO HEAL ITSELF
Ava Frick – “Microcurrent Electrical Therapy Heals a Recalcitrant Wound in a Horse”

PARADOXICAL EFFECT OF “THERAPEUTIC” AGENTS
LOW – DOSE STIMULATION / HIGH – DOSE INHIHBITION
Peet M, Horrobin DF. A dose – ranging study of the effects of ethyl – eicosapentaenoate in patients with
ongoing depression… Arch Gen Psychiatry 2002;59:913-919
DAVID HORROBIN CONDUCTED ONE OF THE MOST OFTEN CITED CLINICAL TRIALS ON THE
EFFICACY OF THE OMEGA – 3 EFAs IN THE TREATMENT OF UNIPOLAR DEPRESSION
AN ELEGANTLY DESIGNED, 12 – WEEK, DOUBLE – BLIND, PLACEBO – CONTROLLED STUDY
PATIENTS RECEIVING ethyl – EPA WERE DIVIDED INTO 3 DOSAGE GROUPS
(1, 2, and 4 grams / day)
PATIENTS RECEIVING 1 gram of EPA per day HAD THE BEST OUTCOME, MORE THAN HALF
ACHIEVING A 50% REDUCTION ON THEIR HAMILTON DEPRESSION RATING SCALE SCORES
BUT PATIENTS RECEIVING 2 grams of EPA per day “SHOWED LITTLE EVIDENCE OF EFFICACY”
Cheng N et al. The effects of electric currents on ATP generation, protein synthesis, and membrane
transport in rat skin. Clin Orthop 1982;171:264-272
ELECTROSTIMULATION OF RAT SKIN WITH MICROCURRENT RESULTED IN INCREASED
ATP CONCENTRATIONS, PROTEIN SYNTHESIS, AND MEMBRANE TRANSPORT
WITH CURRENTS FROM 50 to 1000 microamps, ATP LEVELS WERE INCREASED 3- to 5- fold
WITH CURRENTS EXCEEDING 1000 microamps, ATP LEVELS PLATEAUED
AT 5000 microamps, ATP LEVELS PLUMMETED TO LESS THAN THE UNTREATED CONTROLS
INVERTED U – SHAPED DOSE – RESPONSE CURVE
LOW – DOSE BENEFIT / HIGH – DOSE DETRIMENT

HORMESIS
HORMETIC (BIPHASIC) DOSE – RESPONSE CURVE
LOW – DOSE STIMULATION / HIGH – DOSE INHIBITION
A BIPHASIC DOSE – RESPONSE CURVE INSTEAD OF A LINEAR ONE
EDWARD CALABRESE, A BRILLIANT AVANT GARDE TOXICOLOGIST
AND RESEARCHER, HAS FOUND THAT THE RESPONSE TO AN
ENVIRONMENTAL STRESSOR WILL SHIFT FROM STIMULATORY
TO INHIBITORY ALONG SOME PORTION OF THE
DOSE – RESPONSE CURVE FOR ALMOST ALL BIOLOGICAL AGENTS
HORMESIS SPEAKS TO THE SYSTEM’S ADAPTIVE RESPONSE
TO LOW – LEVEL STRESS, A “MODEST OVERCOMPENSATION”
IN THE FACE OF THREATENED DISRUPTION TO HOMEOSTASIS
Calabrese E. Astrocytes: adaptive responses to low doses of neurotoxins.
Critical Reviews in Toxicology 2008;38(5):463-471
BIPHASIC “DOSE – OF – STRESS” – RESPONSE CURVE
BIPHASIC STRESS – RESPONSE CURVE
LOW – DOSE OPTIMIZATION / HIGH – DOSE TRAUMATIZATION
OPTIMAL STRESS / TRAUMATIC STRESS
MORE IS NOT NECESSARILY BETTER

OPTIMAL STRESS
EXCESS STRESS WILL DEPRESS
CAUSING PHYSICAL AND MENTAL DISTRESS
AND, AS TIME PASSES, DYSHOMEOSTASIS
AND CHRONIC ILLNESS
BUT LESS STRESS, IF PROCESSED,
WILL STIMULATE, ‘CAUSE THE WISDOM OF THE MATRIX
GIVES RISE TO HORMESIS
ENABLING PRESERVATION OF HOMEOSTASIS
AND STRENGTHENING AT THE BROKEN PLACES.
Martha Stark (2008)

OPTIMAL STRESS
STRONGER AT THE BROKEN PLACES
IS THERE NOT A CERTAIN BEAUTY IN BROKENNESS,
A BEAUTY NEVER ACHIEVED BY THINGS UNBROKEN?
IF A BONE IS FRACTURED AND THEN HEALS,
THE AREA OF THE BREAK WILL BE STRONGER THAN
THE SURROUNDING BONE AND WILL NOT EASILY BREAK AGAIN
ARE WE TOO NOT STRONGER AT OUR BROKEN PLACES?
IS THERE NOT A CERTAIN BEAUTY IN BROKENNESS,
A QUIET STRENGTH WE ACQUIRE FROM SURVIVING
ADVERSITY AND HARDSHIP AND MASTERING THE EXPERIENCE OF
DISAPPOINTMENT, HEARTBREAK, AND DEVASTATION?
AND, THEN, WHEN WE FINALLY RISE ABOVE IT,
DON’T WE RISE UP IN QUIET TRIUMPH, EVEN IF ONLY WE NOTICE?

A NEW EARTH
BY ECKHART TOLLE
IN THIS HIS MOST RECENT BOOK, TOLLE WRITES THAT
“AFTER TWO DUCKS GET INTO A FIGHT, WHICH NEVER LASTS LONG,
THEY WILL SEPARATE AND FLOAT OFF IN OPPOSITE DIRECTIONS.
THEN EACH DUCK WILL FLAP ITS WINGS VIGOROUSLY A FEW TIMES
<TO PROCESS THE INTERNAL TENSION>, THUS RELEASING THE
SURPLUS ENERGY THAT <HAD> BUILT UP DURING THE FIGHT.
AFTER THEY FLAP THEIR WINGS, THEY <WILL> FLOAT ON
PEACEFULLY, AS IF NOTHING HAD EVER HAPPENED.”
TOLLE GOES ON TO WRITE “WE ARE A SPECIES THAT HAS LOST
ITS WAY. EVERYTHING NATURAL, EVERY FLOWER OR TREE, AND
EVERY ANIMAL HAVE IMPORTANT LESSONS TO TEACH US
IF WE <COULD BUT LET OURSELVES> STOP, LOOK, AND
LISTEN. OUR DUCK’S LESSON IS THIS: FLAP YOUR WINGS –
<LET GO> – AND RETURN TO THE ONLY PLACE OF POWER:
THE PRESENT MOMENT.”
PROCESS, INTEGRATE, AND MOVE ON, STRONGER FOR
HAVING HAD THE STRESSFUL EXPERIENCE AND TRANSCENDED IT…

EVOLUTION IS A BREAK WITH THE OLD,
THE CREATION OF SOMETHING NEW.
IT IS A DISRUPTION TO THE STATUS QUO,
AN EXPEDITION INTO THE UNKNOWN.
GRAYWOLF
I TAKE COMFORT FROM THE WORDS
OF ALBERT EINSTEIN –
“…TO ASPIRE TOWARDS THE TRUTH
IS MORE PRECIOUS THAN GETTING THERE”

STRENGTH TRAINING – MINOR RUPTURES IN THE MUSCLES / MICRO – TEARS THAT ARE ALLOWED
TO REPAIR WHILE THE BODY RESTS – THE RESULTING MUSCLE IS LARGER THAN BEFORE,
BETTER ABLE TO HANDLE THE STRESS THAT HAD CAUSED THE INITIAL INJURIES
HOMEOPATHY – A NATURAL APPROACH THAT STIMULATES THE BODY TO HEAL ITSELF
LIKE CURES LIKE – PRINCIPLE OF SIMILITUDE
HOMEOPATHIC REMEDIES WORK NOT BY SUPPRESSING SYMPTOMS BUT RATHER
BY ACTIVATING THE BODY’S OWN NATURAL HEALING POWERS TO ADDRESS THEM
TREAT A RATTLESNAKE BITE BY INJECTION WITH A VERY DILUTED SOLUTION OF SNAKE VENOM
ALLIUM CEPA – A MEMBER OF THE ONION FAMILY IS A COMMON REMEDY
FOR THE TEARS AND RUNNY NOSES ASSOCIATED WITH RESPIRATORY ALLERGIES,
INCLUDING HAY FEVER – WE ALL KNOW THAT PEELING ONIONS MAKES US CRY
IPECAC AND OPIUM – GIVEN IN A DILUTED TINCTURE TO RELIEVE NAUSEA AND VOMITING
(IN FACT, BOTH ARE KNOWN AS STRONG INDUCERS OF VOMITING AND NAUSEA)
ALTHOUGH THE DOSES ARE EXTREMELY DILUTE,
THE BODY STILL PICKS UP THE MESSAGE AND REACTS TO IT
PIN FIRING – WHEN A RACE HORSE PULLS A TENDON, THAT TENDON WILL ONLY
HEAL TO 80% OF NORMAL – THEN SMALL, RED – HOT PINS ARE INSERTED INTO
THE 80% HEALED TENDON TO CAUSE AN AGGRAVATION (CAUTERIZATION OF THE
TISSUE) – THIS AGGRAVATION CAUSES THE TENDON TO HEAL THE REMAINING 20%
DEBRIDEMENT – THE REMOVAL OF DEAD, DAMAGED, OR INFECTED TISSUE
TO IMPROVE THE HEALING POTENTIAL OF THE REMAINING HEALTHY TISSUE
OSCHMAN – MILD STIMULATION OF TISSUES (e.g., BY INSERTION OF AN ACUPUNCTURE
NEEDLE, ACUPRESSURE, SHIATSU, STRUCTURAL INTEGRATION, MASSAGE, etc.)
CAN SIMULATE AN INJURY WITHOUT ACTUALLY INJURING THE TISSUE
BY SO DOING, THE MILD STIMULUS ACTIVATES A CASCADE OF REPAIR PROCESSES IN THE LIVING MATRIX
MORE GENERALLY, MILD STIMULATION OF KEY POINTS ON A HEALTHY INDIVIDUAL
IS A SORT OF “TEST RUN” OR “TUNE UP” OF THE REPAIR CHANNELS
IT PRODUCES A LOCAL CURRENT OF INJURY TO WHICH THE BODY REACTS
MILD AGGRAVATIONS CAN STIMULATE THE HEALING PROCESS
CANCER – AS PROTECTION AGAINST MORE CANCER
MASTECTOMIES – MAY INCREASE THE LIKELIHOOD OF GETTING METASTATIC CANCER
BECAUSE REMOVING THE BREAST CANCER CAUSES DOWN – REGULATION OF THE IMMUNE SYSTEM
AND PUTS THE BODY MORE AT RISK FOR THE SUBSEQUENT DEVELOPMENT OF CANCER

ELECTROCONVULSIVE THERAPY (ECT)
DR. RICHARD ABRAMS –
DESPITE YEARS OF STUDY, RESEARCHERS HAVE ONLY IDEAS
BUT NO REAL ANSWERS
ABOUT THE UNDERLYING MECHANISM OF ACTION OF ECT
“DESPITE CONSIDERABLE INVESTIGATION,
THE MECHANISM OF ANTIDEPRESSANT EFFECT OF ECT
IS STILL A MYSTERY.”
DR. CHARLES WELCH / DIRECTOR OF THE ECT UNIT AT THE MGH
THE INDUCED SEIZURE
IS THE EFFECTIVE COMPONENT OF THE TREATMENT
THIS EVENT APPEARS TO RESET OR “REBOOT” THE SYSTEM
IN WAYS NOT ENTIRELY UNDERSTOOD
BY FORCING THE BRAIN TO SHUT OFF A SEIZURE,
WE FORCE THE BRAIN TO MOBILIZE
REGULATORY MECHANISMS
THAT RESTABILIZE THE NERVE MEMBRANES

CELLULAR MEMORY / BODY MEMORY
DYNAMIC MEMORY / SYSTEMIC MEMORY
IMPLICIT RELATIONAL KNOWING
LIQUID CRYSTALS REMEMBER
DYNAMIC MEMORY
EVERY MOMENT OF INTERACTION
IMPRINTS ITS ENERGETIC SIGNATURE
ON THE WATER MOLECULES TO WHICH IT IS BOUND
AND THE MEMORY PERSISTS
(AS AN EMERGENT PROPERTY)
FOR AS LONG AS THE SYSTEM REMAINS INTACT
Barbara Hendel and Peter Ferreira – Water & Salt: The Essence of Life (2003)

TO OPTIMIZE THE EASE OF FLOW
THROUGHOUT THE MATRIX
MASARU EMOTO –
WE START OUT LIFE (AS FETUSES) AS 98% WATER
WHEN WE ARE BORN, WE ARE 90% WATER
BY THE TIME WE REACH ADULTHOOD, WE ARE DOWN TO 70% WATER
IF WE ARE LUCKY ENOUGH TO REACH OLD AGE,
WE WILL PROBABLY BE ABOUT 50% WATER
BY THE TIME WE GET THERE
AS DESCRIBED BY THE ALIENS ON AN EPISODE OF STAR TREK,
WE HUMANS ARE REALLY NOTHING MORE THAN
“UGLY BAGS OF MOSTLY WATER”
INTERMITTENT EXPOSURES ALLOW THE BODY TO UNDERGO ADAPTIVE
PROCESSES

AGAIN, TO WHAT EXTENT IS IT SIMPLY REGULATORY INPUT
FROM THE OUTSIDE THAT STIMULATES HEALING?
AND TO WHAT EXTENT DOES THIS REGULATORY INPUT SERVE
INITIALLY TO DISRUPT THE STATUS QUO
AND THEN TO STIMULATE HEALING
BY PROMPTING ADAPTIVE REORGANIZATION
AT A HIGHER LEVEL OF COHERENCE
AS THE SYSTEM STRUGGLES TO PROCESS AND INTEGRATE
THE IMPACT OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL PERTURBATION
PERHAPS AKIN TO THE EARLIER DISTINCTION BETWEEN
GRATIFICATION AND OPTIMAL FRUSTRATION AS PROMOTERS OF
HEALING

THE LIVING MATRIX
A LIQUID CRYSTAL
THE LIVING MATRIX IS A HIGHLY ORDERED ARRAY OF MOLECULES
(PRIMARILY WATER, GLYCOPROTEINS, AND PROTEOGLYCANS)
CLOSELY PACKED AND TIGHTLY ORGANIZED
IN A CRYSTAL – LIKE LATTICE STRUCTURE
IT HAS THE SEMICONDUCTING PROPERTIES OF A LIQUID CRYSTAL
AND, AS SUCH, ALLOWS FOR THE HIGH – SPEED
FLOW OF INFORMATION AND ENERGY THROUGHOUT THE BODY,
THEREBY MAKING IT POSSIBLE FOR THE SYSTEM
TO PROCESS AND INTEGRATE ENVIRONMENTAL STRESSORS
SO THAT HOMEOSTASIS CAN BE MAINTAINED

THE CAPACITY TO
COPE WITH STRESS
THE EMERGENCE OF THIS CAPACITY WILL BE SHAPED
BY THE INTERACTION BETWEEN NATURE AND NURTURE
ON THE ONE HAND, THE CONSTITUTIONAL ENDOWMENT
AND INHERITED POTENTIAL OF THE INDIVIDUAL
ON THE OTHER HAND, THE INTERNAL RECORDING
AND STRUCTURALIZATION OF THE INDIVIDUAL’S ACTUAL
INTERACTIONS WITH THE ENVIRONMENT
PARTICULARLY THOSE EARLY – ON WITH THE PRIMARY CAREGIVER
ALSO CRUCIAL WILL BE THE INDIVIDUAL’S MASTERY
OF THE VARIOUS CHALLENGES ENCOUNTERED
DURING THE CRITICAL (OR SENSITIVE) PERIODS OF CHILDHOOD
THESE “TOUCHPOINTS” ARE CHARACTERIZED BY HEIGHTENED
SENSITIVITY TO ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT AND ENHANCED
OPPORTUNITY TO DEVELOP NEW SYNAPTIC CONNECTIONS

DEFENSE AS ALARM
Walter B. Cannon – The Wisdom of the Body (1932)
Hans Selye – The Stress of Life (1956)
DEFENSES SIGNAL THAT THE BODY
HAS BEEN THROWN OFF BALANCE AND
IS STRUGGLING TO RECOVER ITS EQUILIBRIUM
an alarm, an alert, a warning signal
that something is amiss
DEFENSES ARE MOBILIZED IN AN EFFORT
TO RESTORE HOMEOSTASIS
that is, the constancy of the internal environment

ADAPTATION
HIGHER – LEVEL PROCESSING
AND THE EMERGENCE OF A GREATER DEGREE
OF COMPLEXITY AND INTEGRATION
THE SYSTEM WILL BE ABLE TO RESPOND BY ADAPTATION
IF THE IMPINGEMENT CAN BE PROCESSED AND INTEGRATED
ADAPTATION SPEAKS TO THE
CAPACITY CONTINUOUSLY TO ADJUST TO
THE IMPACT OF ENVIRONMENTAL THREAT
BY RECONSTITUTING AGAIN AND AGAIN
AT EVER NEWER SET POINTS
BUT SIGNIFICANT LONG – TERM DAMAGE MAY BE SUSTAINED
BECAUSE ADAPTATION NECESSARILY INVOLVES
AN OVERRIDING OF THE SYSTEM’S WARNING SIGNALS

THE PRICE PAID
FOR ADAPTATION
COSTLY OVERRIDING OF SELF – PROTECTIVE WARNING SIGNALS
THE SMOKER WHO NO LONGER COUGHS BUT IS DEVELOPING LUNG CANCER
THE ALCOHOLIC WHO NO LONGER “GETS DRUNK” BUT IS DEVELOPING CIRRHOSIS
COSTLY DEPLETION OF ADAPTATION RESERVES
WHEN THE INTERNAL ENVIRONMENT BECOMES TOO ACIDIC,
THE BODY ADAPTS BY LEACHING CALCIUM FROM THE BONES TO BUFFER THE ACIDITY
GOOD NEWS: RESTORATION OF ACID – BASE BALANCE
PRICE PAID: POTENTIAL FOR OSTEOPOROSIS
WHEN THE THYROID IS POISONED BY ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTANTS,
THE BODY ADAPTS BY REDISTRIBUTING BLOOD FLOW
GOOD NEWS: ESSENTIAL SYSTEMS WILL CONTINUE TO BE NOURISHED
PRICE PAID: DECREASED FLOW TO SKIN, HAIR, AND EYEBROWS

ADAPTATION
THE GOOD NEWS 
ALTHOUGH THERE MAY BE AN INITIAL DISORGANIZATION
IN RESPONSE TO ENVIRONMENTAL CHALLENGE,
THE SYSTEM, BY VIRTUE OF ITS ABILITY TO PROCESS
THE IMPACT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PERTURBATION,
WILL EVENTUALLY ADAPT BY REORGANIZING
AT A HIGHER LEVEL OF ORDER, COMPLEXITY, AND INTEGRATION,
THEREBY RESTORING HOMEOSTASIS
THE BAD NEWS 
THE SYSTEM WILL SUSTAIN SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE OVER TIME
BOTH BECAUSE ADAPTATION INVOLVES AN OVERRIDING OF SYMPTOMS THAT ALERT
AND BECAUSE EVERY CYCLE OF DISRUPTION AND REPAIR
WILL FURTHER DEPLETE ADAPTATION (NUTRIENT AND ENERGETIC) RESERVES
ROBBING PETER TO PAY PAUL

PARTICLE – WAVE
DUALITY
DEFENSE – SPEAKS TO DISORDER, DISORGANIZATION, DISRUPTION,
AND COMPROMISED FUNCTIONALITY
ADAPTATION – SPEAKS TO REORGANIZATION OF UNDERLYING STRUCTURE
AND INCREASED FUNCTIONALITY
BUT BOTH COUNTERMEASURES SPEAK TO THE LENGTHS TO WHICH A SYSTEM
WILL GO TO RESTORE ITS HOMEOSTASIS WHEN CHALLENGED
QUANTUM THEORY – PARTICLES AND WAVES
ARE TWO DIFFERENT MANIFESTATIONS OF A SINGLE REALITY
(DEPENDING UPON THE OBSERVER’S PERSPECTIVE)
SO TOO DEFENSE AND ADAPTATION ARE CONJUGATE PAIRS
DEMONSTRATING THIS SAME COMPLEMENTARITY OR DUALITY
“BOTH – AND” NOT “EITHER – OR”

PSYCHOLOGICAL
ADAPTATION
TO THE EXIGENCIES OF REALITY
A RECURSIVE PROCESS OF DISRUPTION AND REPAIR,
DISRUPTION AND REPAIR,
EACH REPARATION ACCOMPANIED BY
THE ATTAINMENT OF EVER MORE REFINED LEVELS OF
PSYCHOLOGICAL SOPHISTICATION AND EMOTIONAL MATURITY
MATURITY IS AN ADAPTATION
TO THE IMPACT OF PAINFUL TRUTHS
BUT MATURITY REQUIRES THE ACCEPTANCE OF
REALITIES THAT SOBER AND SADDEN
e.g., MATURE GRIEVING OF INTERPERSONAL DISAPPOINTMENT
GOOD NEWS: WISER 
BAD NEWS: SADDER 

PSYCHOLOGICAL SCARS
THE INTERNAL PRICE PAID FOR EARLY – ON EXPERIENCES
NEVER FULLY PROCESSED AND INTEGRATED
ALTHOUGH BELATEDLY,
PSYCHOTHERAPY OFFERS THE OPPORTUNITY
THESE UNMASTERED TRAUMAS
THREE MODES OF THERAPEUTIC ACTION
ENHANCEMENT OF KNOWLEDGE
PROVISION OF EXPERIENCE
ENGAGEMENT IN RELATIONSHIP
Stark M. Modes of Therapeutic Action. Northvale, NJ: Jason Aronson, 1999

MODES OF THERAPEUTIC ACTION
Model 1 – COGNITIVE
ENHANCEMENT OF KNOWLEDGE “WITHIN”
INTERPRETIVE PERSPECTIVE
OF CLASSICAL PSYCHOANALYSIS
Model 2 – AFFECTIVE
PROVISION OF EXPERIENCE “FOR”
DEFICIENCY – COMPENSATION PERSPECTIVE
OF SELF PSYCHOLOGY
AND THOSE OBJECT RELATIONS THEORIES
EMPHASIZING ABSENCE OF GOOD
Model 3 – RELATIONAL
ENGAGEMENT IN RELATIONSHIP “WITH”
INTERSUBJECTIVE PERSPECTIVE
OF CONTEMPORARY RELATIONAL THEORIES
AND THOSE OBJECT RELATIONS THEORIES
EMPHASIZING PRESENCE OF BAD

INTERNAL RECORDS OF
TRAUMATIC FRUSTRATION
TRAUMATIC FRUSTRATION OF INFANTILE NEED
LEADS TO DEFENSIVELY REINFORCED NEED
THE PROVINCE OF MODEL 1 – A DRIVE – DEFENSE MODEL
PARENTAL SINS OF OMISSION (DEPRIVATION AND NEGLECT)
LEAD TO INTERNAL DEFICIENCIES
THE PROVINCE OF MODEL 2 – A CORRECTIVE – PROVISION MODEL
PARENTAL SINS OF COMMISSION (TRAUMA AND ABUSE)
LEAD TO INTERNAL TOXICITIES
THE PROVINCE OF MODEL 3 – A MODEL THAT INVOLVES
COLLABORATIVE NEGOTIATION BY PATIENT AND THERAPIST
OF THE TURBULENCE THAT WILL INEVITABLY ARISE AT
THE INTIMATE EDGE OF THEIR AUTHENTIC ENGAGEMENT
ALL THREE “INTERNAL RECORDS” ARE THE PRICE PAID BECAUSE
OF EARLY – ON TRAUMATIC FRUSTRATION BY A PARENT

ENHANCEMENT
OF KNOWLEDGE
THE INTERPRETIVE PERSPECTIVE
OF CLASSICAL PSYCHOANALYSIS
A DRIVE – DEFENSE MODEL
THAT FOCUSES ON UNMODULATED DRIVES
AND SELF – PROTECTIVE DEFENSES
OFFERS THE NEUROTICALLY CONFLICTED PATIENT
AN OPPORTUNITY TO GAIN
GREATER SELF – AWARENESS AND INSIGHT
INTO HER INNER WORKINGS

PROVISION OF EXPERIENCE
A MORE CONTEMPORARY PERSPECTIVE
FOCUSES ON PSYCHOLOGICAL DEFICIENCIES
DERIVING FROM EARLY – ON DEPRIVATION OR NEGLECT
AND MANIFESTING AS AN
UNRELENTING NEED FOR A GOOD PARENT
THIS DEFICIENCY – COMPENSATION PERSPECTIVE
OFFERS THE PATIENT AN OPPORTUNITY
BOTH TO GRIEVE PARENTAL FAILURES
AND TO EXPERIENCE SYMBOLIC RESTITUTION
FOR THOSE FAILURES IN THE CONTEXT OF THE
HERE – AND – NOW RELATIONSHIP WITH THE THERAPIST
LEADS TO GREATER ACCEPTANCE

ENGAGEMENT IN RELATIONSHIP
A MORE CONTEMPORARY PERSPECTIVE
FOCUSES ON PSYCHOLOGICAL TOXICITIES DERIVING FROM
EARLY – ON TRAUMA OR ABUSE AND MANIFESTING AS
DYSFUNCTIONAL RELATIONSHIP PATTERNS
THERAPY OFFERS THE PATIENT A STAGE UPON WHICH
TO PLAY OUT HER UNRESOLVED CHILDHOOD DRAMAS
BUT ULTIMATELY AN OPPORTUNITY TO ENCOUNTER A DIFFERENT
OUTCOME THIS TIME BECAUSE THE THERAPIST WILL BE ABLE
TO FACILITATE RESOLUTION BY BRINGING TO BEAR HER OWN
MORE EVOLVED CAPACITY TO PROCESS AND INTEGRATE
LEADS TO GREATER ACCOUNTABILITY
FOR UNCONSCIOUS RE – ENACTMENTS AT THE INTIMATE EDGE

GROWTH PROCESS
TRANSFORMATION OF
NEED INTO CAPACITY
WHERE ID WAS, THERE SHALL EGO BE
WHERE ID DRIVE WAS, THERE SHALL EGO STRUCTURE BE
WHERE ID NEEDS WERE, THERE SHALL EGO CAPACITY BE
WHERE NEED WAS, THERE SHALL CAPACITY BE
PSYCHIC STRUCTURES PERFORM
REGULATORY FUNCTIONS THAT ENABLE CAPACITY
e.g., TRANSFORMATION OF THE NEED FOR PERFECTION
INTO THE CAPACITY TO TOLERATE IMPERFECTION
e.g., TRANSFORMATION OF THE NEED FOR IMMEDIATE GRATIFICATION
INTO THE CAPACITY TO TOLERATE DELAY

MATURITY
DEFENSIVE NEED
INTO ADAPTIVE CAPACITY
Model 1 – RESISTANCE INTO INSIGHT
Model 2 – RELENTLESSNESS INTO ACCEPTANCE
Model 3 – ENACTMENT INTO ACCOUNTABILITY
ADAPTIVE CAPACITY
TO KNOW AND ACCEPT THE SELF
TO KNOW AND ACCEPT THE OBJECT
TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR ONESELF

COMPLEXITY THEORY
ORDER EMERGES FROM CHAOS
CHAOS – SEEMING RANDOMNESS but UNDERLYING ORDER
THE EVOLUTION OF A SELF – ORGANIZING SYSTEM
INVOLVES WORKING THROUGH RECURSIVE CYCLES
OF DISRUPTION AND REPAIR
EACH ITERATION ACCOMPANIED BY
ADAPTIVE RECONSTITUTION AT EVER HIGHER LEVELS
AS THE NEED TO DEFEND BECOMES TRANSFORMED
INTO THE CAPACITY TO ADAPT

EMERGENCE –
IN RESPONSE TO REGULATORY INPUT FROM THE OUTSIDE,
THE ARISING OF NOVEL AND COHERENT
STRUCTURES, PATTERNS, AND PROPERTIES
DURING THE PROCESS OF SELF – ORGANIZATION
IN A COMPLEX SYSTEM
LIVING SYSTEMS EXIST IN THE SPACETIME
BETWEEN ORDER AND CHAOS,
BALANCED PRECARIOUSLY AT THE EDGE OF CHAOS
IN THE WORDS OF PER BAK,
“PERPETUALLY OUT – OF – BALANCE,
BUT ORGANIZED IN A POISED STATE”
INCLUDE HERE THE RICHARD DAY AND GUY LETTS MATERIAL

WORKING – THROUGH PROCESS
RECURSIVE CYCLES OF DISRUPTION AND REPAIR
THE THERAPIST, EVER ATTUNED
TO THE PATIENT’S CAPACITY TO TOLERATE STRESS,
RECURSIVE CYCLES OF COLLAPSE AND ADAPTIVE RECONSTITUTION
AT EVER HIGHER LEVELS OF ORDER, COMPLEXITY, AND MATURITY
THERAPEUTIC ACTION
UNCONSCIOUS CONFLICTEDNESS AND DEFENSIVENESS INTO INSIGHT
RELENTLESS HOPE AND REFUSAL TO GRIEVE INTO ACCEPTANCE
UNWITTING COMPULSIVE RE – ENACTMENTS INTO ACCOUNTABILITY
WISDOM, ACCEPTANCE, ACCOUNTABILITY

FACILITATION OF FLOW
A MORE HOLISTIC APROACH TO HEALING
MY FOURTH MODEL – ONE THAT FOCUSES ON
THE INTERDEPENDENCE OF BODY AND MIND
HERE THE BODY CONCEPTUALIZED AS A
VAST INTERCONNECTED NETWORK OF MOLECULES
WITHIN WHICH ALL THE BODY’S CELLS,
TISSUES, AND ORGANS ARE EMBEDDED
A LIVING MATRIX THROUGH WHICH
THE FLOW OF LIFE TAKES PLACE
THE FLOW OF VITAL ENERGY OR CHI
STORED ENERGETICALLY WITHIN EVERY MOLECULE
OF THIS EXTRACELLULAR MATRIX
IS THE HISTORY OF ALL THE BODY’S INTERACTIONS
WITH THE ENVIRONMENT

WALTER B. CANNON
The Wisdom of the Body. New York, NY: WW Norton & Company, 1932
HANS SELYE
The Stress of Life. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Book Co., 1956
HOW CRUCIAL IT IS THAT THE BODY
BE ABLE TO MAINTAIN
THE CONSTANCY OF ITS INTERNAL ENVIRONMENT
HOW ADAPTIVE IT IS THAT THE BODY WHEN CHALLENGED
BE ABLE – BY VIRTUE OF ITS INNATE WISDOM –
TO MOBILIZE ITS OWN RESOURCES
IN THE INTERESTS OF RESTORING ITS HOMEOSTASIS
THE BODY EMPLOYS ALL MANNER OF REGULATORY,
COMPENSATORY, AND DEFENSIVE MECHANISMS
TO RESTORE UNDERLYING ORDEREDNESS,
COHERENCE, AND BALANCE

THERAPEUTIC INTERVENTIONS
FOR DIS – ORDER AND DIS – EASE
DETOXIFY (AS HAPPENS WITH CHELATION)
TO LIGHTEN THE TOTAL BODY LOAD
SUPPLEMENT (AS HAPPENS WITH OXYGEN THERAPY)
TO REPLENISH THE TOTAL BODY RESERVES
TO RESTORE THE EASE OF FLOW
OF REGULATORY INFORMATION AND VIBRATORY ENERGY
TO BOLSTER THE SYSTEM’S CAPACITY
THE IMPACT OF ENVIRONMENTAL IMPINGEMENT
AND ADAPTIVELY TO RECONSTITUTE AT EVER HIGHER LEVELS
INTERVENTIONS MUST DETOXIFY AND SUPPLEMENT
IN ORDER TO REINFORCE THE SYSTEM’S
CAPACITY TO TOLERATE THE STRESS(ORS) OF LIFE

Martha Stark MD – 21 Feb 2009 – The Wisdom of the Matrix – From Chaos to Coherence.pptx

Martha Stark MD – 21 Feb 2009 – The Wisdom of the Matrix – From Chaos to Coherence.pptx

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