Page 19 - DeepRestFlipFinal

DEEP REST
florid, academic style common to the era, but the core
idea was startling. Finch described experiments, crude
by modern standards, involving sensory deprivation,
specific auditory frequencies, and controlled breathing
techniques, all aimed at inducing a state he referred to
as "The Great Stillness."
He claimed this state, achieved after hours,
sometimes days, of sustained effort, had remarkable
effects on patients suffering from "melancholia,"
"hysteria," and "nervous exhaustion." He spoke of a
"reintegration of neural pathways," a "purging of
emotional toxins," and a "restoration of vital energy."
She leaned closer, her heart beginning to pound
with an unfamiliar rhythm. Reintegration of neural
pathways. That was a modern concept, a holy grail in
neuroscience. Finch was describing something akin to
neuroplasticity, the brains ability to rewire itself, a
century before the term was even coined.
She scanned the paper. Finch’s methodology was
vague, his data anecdotal. He spoke of "harmonic
resonance" and "etheric vibrations," language that
made her scientific hackles rise. But then, a single
paragraph jumped out at her, a chillingly precise
description:
“During the deepest phase of The Stillness, the
patient’s brainwave activity shifts to a pattern of
absolute, almost flatline delta, interspersed with a
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