Print

HYPNOS VOL.  XXIII No 4 - 1996, pp. 214-219

Case Notes, Techniques & Anecdotes

This section of the Journal is a forum to which readers are
invited to contribute brief items drawn from their own
experience.  These may be vignettes of case situations, unusual
or ingenious devices and techniques, or simply thought provoking
experiences.  Correspondence regarding these items is also
invited.

To the Editor of Hypnos
Dear Dr. Wikstr”m,
	I send to you my article entitled "Allisonian Essence Memory":
How much new and how much acceptable?" which is an analysis of
Ralph Allison's theory on memory based on his article "Essence
Memory: A preliminary Hypothesis" and on the lecture he gave at
the Budapest Eurohypnosis Congress.  Since the original paper by
Allison was published in your distinguished Journal (Vol. 23. No
I/1996), I hoped that the same journal would be interested for a
debate on this extremely intriguing and important question.

Amir Muzar, M.D., M.A.
Address:
Vrutki 21
51410 Opatija
CROATIA
e-mail:	neven.cermak@help.tel.hr

Allisonian Essence Memory...
by Amir Muzur

By opening a debate on a newly formed theory one has not
necessarily the intention of undermining it.  Each new theory
has to be evaluated, the sooner the better, and this
confrontation with logical argumentation is the only way for
that theory to be accepted and built in into the pylons of
Science.

	In a hopefully constructive analysis of Ralph Allison's
Essence-Memory concept, interesting at any rate, let us begin
with some minor questions.

1. The limitation of the "Geographical" Data

Traumatic memories consist of two components, the Geographical
Data and Emotional Overlay. The Geographical Data consist of
information about who, what, when, and why of the situation. (1)

	First of all, the term "geographical" for the objective data
associated with a memorized event is inadequately chosen.  It
would be much better to speak in more general terms, like
"objective," " situational," "descriptive," "historical," etc.
data vs. Emotional Overlay.  Moreover, one could suggest to
abandon the "why" element of the "geographical" ("objective")
data, since this element implicates a cognitive level of the
data processing and not any longer a pure perceptional one. 
More important is the "when" problem: according to Allison.  The
data with a strict time concept cannot be stored as an Akashic
Record.  On the other hand, the "when" is part of the
"geographical" data and is supplied, in favorable circumstances,
from the same Akashic Records by the mediation of the Essence.

2. The stability of the Emotional Overlay

The Emotional Overlay  consists of attitudes and feelings that
the patient developed as a result of the event.  At that
particular time of their lives, the nature of the Emotional
Overlay was created by prior experiences and the future
implications of that traumatic event (2).

	The interdependence of emotional context and memory is well
known a phenomenon and it was described as a special case of
"state-dependent memory, learning, and behavior" in the studies
by Cheek and Rossi. (3) Allison's hypothesis however, that an
event's memory is not fixed but is subsequently constantly
emotionally modifying.  This does not correspond to the
experiences of the psychotherapists describing the
"locked-emotions" state which has been cured by the well-known
abreaction method.

3.	The Inner Self Helper (ISH) as a substitution of the Essence

Once integration is completed, the role of the ISH is no longer
needed.  Now the entity who previously played that role becomes
once again what each human has in her from birth, her "Essence"
(4).
	According to this view, the ISH is a quality connected with
dissociation disorders, while the Essence is a property of a
normally integrated personality.  Since the ISH and the Essence
have the same functions, it is not clear why they should be
distinguished one from another at all.

4. The deja vu problem

The most easily appreciated function o the Essence in humans is
intuition.  Other functions include deja vu and creative
inspiration (5).

	Pity that the author did not attempt to explain how he defines
intuition and creative inspiration and how these imaginary
entities can be helped by an imaginary Essence.  Deja vu, on the
other hand, can hardly be understood as a "function," since it
is well known that it can be provoked by a
temporal-lobe-epilepsy seizure and by a stimulation of the
temporal cortex.  Allison's theory does offer an intriguing
explication of this phenomenon. but only indirectly and not as a
"function" of the Essence.

5. The world of the Akashic Records

	One should not be ashamed of being a dualist.  Ramon y Cajal,
Sperry,  Eccles, and Penfield, authorities who certainly knew
something about the (material) brain, finished their carriers
with a "clear doubt" that something "outside" does exist.
(Science very often reluctantly looks upon the dualism, mostly
because the acceptance of dualism seems as just postponing the
problem, putting away the answer from the field of sight.)
Therefore, it is not a wonder that Allison constructs his
memories reservoir in a fictive Thoughtspace, opposed to the
Physicalspace. (This could be considered as a Popper & Eccles'
idea reduced to two worlds: World I with physical objects and
states, and World 2 with states of consciousness.  Allison is
not interested in the World 3 from the original division -
"knowledge in objective sense." (6)

	This Allisonian "extrinsic" localization of the episodic memory
offers a solution for the problem why it was impossible to
induce memories by electric stimulation of the brain cortex. 
When small discharges are applied to the temporal and occipital
lobe surfaces, namely, as it have been experimented by Penfield,
Ojemann, and some other, the result was not a provocation of
memories, but of simple or complex visual or auditory
hallucinations.  The patients were mostly reporting "hazy"
voices (if a voice was attributed to a known person, the
situation was still new), unrecognized melodies. jamais vu and
deja vu phenomena, etc. (7) Penfield and Perot believed that
they had found records of memory, but already Jaynes suggested
those conclusions to be incorrect. (8) Allisonian concept
imposes the idea of the brain as a mere instrument which only
shapes the contents of memories coming from outside (Akashic
Records).  Like when a person, in her first contact with a
clarinet, blows through it and gets a sound but not a melody, so
the brain itself cannot reproduce memories by mere electric
stimulations but only the formal elements (images and sounds) in
a chaotic state (like deja vu and jamais vu, occurring by
temporal-lobe-epilepsy seizures as well).

	Another interesting aspect of the Allisonian idea is that here
the subconscious is located "outside" the brain, and the brain
itself could be identified as consciousness.

	Our memory does not consist exclusively of the Objective Truth,
that is, of the records reflecting the occurrings recorded in
the same way by our surrounding (and therefore verifiable).  Our
memory should rather be considered as a set of a Subjective
Truth, which can sometimes coincide with the Objective Truth,
but sometimes "distort" it as well.  The "distortion" of the
Objective Truth is not conscious and aims always at
self-protection.  What hypnosis, for instance, reveals is not a
"dis-distorted" Objective Truth, but precisely the Subjective
Truth in all its "distortions." Thus it seems that hypnosis does
not only release repressive and suppressive mechanisms, but also
the conscious checking of what we could call " possibility,"
"probability," "contradiction," and "provability" of an
utterance. (9) The neglecting of Subjective Truth is exactly the
important defect of Allison's Essence-Memory concept.

6. Security Coding of the Akashic Records

The minimal level  of security of traumatic memories is attached
to those memories which are unpleasant to recall, but in which
the Emotional Overlay  does not include conflictual feelings,
such as guilt and shame. [... I The medium level of security of
traumatic memories is attached to those memories which would be
unpleasant to recall, and in which the Emotional Overlay
includes conflictual feelings, such as guilt and
shame.  The maximum level of security of traumatic memories is
attached to those memories which are unpleasant to recall, and
in which the Emotional Overlay is so horrible that remembering
any of it will make the person catatonic and disabled for life.
(10)

	"Unpleasant" has always a negative emotional impact (fear /
guilt / shame / anger).  It is disputable why Allison chooses
precisely "guilt" and "shame" which are less biologically
emotional and much more shaped by the learned ethics.  At any
rate, the entire division (of the phenomena better known after
their Freudian names - repression and suppression. respectively)
should not be considered as a qualitative one, but as a more
quantitative one.

7. The type of memory in the Akashic Records

In memories stored in the Akashic Records, only sequential
information is noted, so that one can recall which event
happened first, second, or third.  Anything to do with WHEN any
event happened must be stored in the brain, as time data cannot
be attached to the files in the Akashic Records.  Other memories
that cannot be stored in the Akashic Records are those having to
do with physical bodily functions.  All neurological reflexes
are managed by the Central Nervous System.  And learned physical
behavior, such as how to drive a car or ride a bicycle, must be
stored in the brain, for similar reasons. (11)

	Obviously, the only memory located in the Akashic Records is
the episodic memory, while the encyclopedic memory and all kinds
of implicit memories (procedural, reflexes, etc.) are stored in
the brain.  A problem immediately arises: if the brain itself is
capable of creating encyclopedic-memory engrams, why the
creation of episodic memory would have so different mechanism
(explicantia non sunt multiplicanda sine necessitate)?  If the
Emotional Overlay is the distinguishing factor, then this is not
correct, since it is well known that the data without any
connection with personal experience can have a strong emotional
impact (facilitating or aggravating learning and retrieval).

8.	The interdependence of individual Akashic Records

If the memory involves family members or friends, the CIE
[Celestial Intelligent Energy) will only authorize the clearance
after a discussion with each of the Essences of the individuals
involved (12).
	If one accepts the Akashic-Records idea, one can accept also
that the "memories reservoir" is mutual.  Nevertheless,
insisting upon the concordance of all the persons involved in
the same event is exaggerated: is it not possible that only one
person recalls an event which is under repression for another
person?

9. The Essence vs. the Emotional Being

	If the Essence is defined as a faculty, as the Intellectual
Being, as energy, as an abstract category transferring the
memorized material, then it should not be opposed to the
Emotional-Being antipode: (13) emotions should be considered as
neuro-vegetative and instinctive manifestations of stimulations
of certain brain structures.  Therefore, emotions are supposed
to be on a lower level than the Essence.

10. The memories-deliver question

When the Essence decides to retrieve memory of' a traumatic
episode, the Geographical Data will be sent first.  If that is
accepted by the person, the Essence will deliver some of the
Emotional Overlay in the form of small puffs of feelings.  These
bits of emotion will be just enough to remind the person what
she felt like at the time of the event, but not enough to
unbalance her in the present situation. (14)
	Breuer and Freud would not agree with this: they were obtaining
the best results with patients who were able to reproduce their
memories together with an extensive affective impact. (I5)
	If the Essence senses that the therapist is interested in using
the patient as a political pawn in a battle with authority
figures, the Essence will withhold any information that would
help with the therapist's planned revenge. (16)
	Since, at least in hypnosis, the repressed more or less does
come from memory, it is question why now the Celestial
Intelligent Energy would "betray" the interests of the
individual. (Needless to mention the well known cases of the
hypnosis abuse.)

	If one would like to conclude these remarks on the Allisonian
Essence-Memory concept, one should admit that the hypothesis
does offer some new possibilities (hallucinations and deja vu),
but containing numerous shortcomings and banalities (for
instance, that Spiritual Professor-Teacher-Guardian hierarchy,
reminding of the angel classes), has to pass through many
corrections and re-shapings.

(1) Ralph B. Allison.  "Essence Memory A Preliminary
Hypothesis," Hypnos 23. no. 1 (1996): 6.
(2) Ibid.
(3) Cf. Ernest Lawrence Rossi and David B. Cheek. Mind-Body 
Therapy: Ideodynamic Healing in Hypnosis (New York: W. W. Norton
and Company. 1988): Ernest Lawrence Rossi. The Psychobiology of
Mind-Body Healing:	New Concepts of Therapeutic Hypnosis, New 
York: W. W. Norton and Company. 1986): Ernest Lawrence Rossi,
"New Theories of Healing and Hypnosis: The Emergence of
Mind-Gene Communication." European Journal of Clinical Hypnosis
3 (1994): 4-17: etc.
(4) Allison, Hypnos, 8.
(5) Ibid.
(6)	John C. Eccles, The Human Psyche: The Gifford Lectures,
University of Edinburgh 1978-1979 (London / New York: Routledge,
1992),.167.
(7)	Cf. Wilder Penfield and Phanor Perot,  "The Brain's Record
of Auditory and Visual Experience: A Final Summary and
Discussion," Brain 86 (1963): 595-702.
(8)	Julian Jaynes, The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown
of the Bicameral Mind (London: Penguin Books, 1993), 112.
(9)	Cf. the findings by Michael R. Nash.  "Hypnosis as a Window
on Regression.  " Bulletin of the Menninger Clinic 52 (1988):
383-403.
(10) Allison,  Hypnos, 9.
(11) Ibid., I0.
(12) Ibid.
(13) Ralph B. Allison.  "Essence Memory," Paper presented at the
7th European Congress of Hypnosis Eurohypnosis '96, Budapest,
Hungary, August 1 7-23, 1996.
(14)  Allison.  Hypnos, 12.
(15)	Cf. Affektloses Erinnern ist fast immer v”llig wirkungslos;
der psychische Process, der ursprunglich abgelaufen war, muss so
lebhaft als m”glich wiederholt, in statum nascendigebracht und
dann "ausgesprochen" werden.   Joseph Breuer and Sigmund Freud. 
"Uber den psychischen Mechanismus hysterischen Ph„nomene
(Vorlaufige Mitteilung)" in Joseph Breuer and Siegmund Freud. 
Studien �ber Hysterie (Frankfurt: Fischer, 1987), 30.
(16) Allison, Hypnos, 12
COMMENTARY ON DR.  MUZUR

Ralph B. Allison.  M.D.
	Dr. Muzur's commentary on my paper on Essence Memory is
appreciated, since. only by such feedback can I know the degree
of understanding achieved in presenting novel findings.  The
subject of memory is complex. and the proven data about the
"neurological memory system" is being expanded daily in
laboratories around the world.  Now I come along and describe a
parallel processing "Essence memory system," which only humans
use, a system which is completely interactive with the
"neurological memory system." A fuller description is in a book
in progress. and the article in Hypnos was a brief extract of
one chapter.  I myself am constantly learning more about this
system.

	Dr. Muzur is concerned about some of the terms used.  This is
of concern as I wish accurate understanding by readers.  Instead
of "Essence Memory," I will now use "Essence Memory System,"
which can process many "kinds" of memories.  I picked
"Geographical Data" as my favourite term for the facts of
narrative memory, since, in therapy, I first must orient myself
as to where the patients see themselves.  Then I need to know
how they feel about what is going on, the "Emotional Overlay"
(or Qualia, a term invented by philosophers).  The "when" factor
is "at my first birthday party" or "before my parents divorced,"
not calendar time.  The "why" factor is meant to be an
explanation of how the event happened to come about, not "Why
did it happen to me?".  I will use "how" in place of "why" to
avoid this confusion of the two meanings of the word "why." To
avoid these semantic confusions. the Essences and the CIE have
their own extensive language, which is similar to Ancient
Sanskrit.

	Regarding Akashic Records.  I have been told by my sources, who
reside in Thoughtspace, that it is incorrect to think of their
"universe" as some other physical universe existing parallel to
our known universe.  Thoughtspace consists only of energy, and
intelligent energy at that.  It co-exists with the physical
universe and is completely interactive with it.  It does not
exist "somewhere up there above the clouds." It is right here
inside of you and me and all around us.

	To accept that makes me a "dualist interactionist, as were
Popper and Eccles (Popper & Eccles, The Self and its Brain, 
Berlin, Springer-Verlag, 1977).  Their World I is my
"Physicalspace." Their World 2 is my "Thoughtspace." Their World
3 is one portion of my "Akashic Records in Thoughtspace." I
accept their opinion that the interface between World I and
World 2 is the cortex of the dominant hemisphere of the human
brain, at least in regard to memories.

	Recall of memories from Akashic Records in Thoughtspace to the
brain as a conscious memory is determined by the person's
Essence on a case-by-case basis.  There are no rules for
researchers to discover which will hold true for anyone else. 
The individual's Essence is concerned only about the welfare of
its human charge and will deliver the amount and type of memory
it knows the individual can handle.  If more than that
individual can handle is recalled, that will be for a teaching
purpose for that individual and their inept therapist.

	Dr. Muzur's concluding comments that my paper contains
"numerous shortcomings and banalities (for instance, that
Spiritual Professor-Teacher-Guardian hierarchy, reminding of the
angel classes)" indicates that he needs to read the last chapter
of the work in progress which outlines the duties and
responsibilities of these three types of CIE.  In my interviews
with these CIE, they are clear that there are no vertical
hierarchies in Thoughtspace.  Hierarchies only exist in
Physicalspace.  No CIE is better than any other CIE.  All have a
specific area of responsibility and adequate power to accomplish
their respective missions.  While the CIE have been called
angels ("messengers") by theologians. the CIE I interviewed
consider that label much too limiting and prefer to be called
CIE.