I’ve been a student of the human brain for almost sixty years and, having presented public programs for thirty years, I have had personal experiences understanding the value of brainwave training, biofeedback, neurofeedback, and hypnosis.

      However, these subjects were self-taught during my personal life journey, especially during my teen years. These concepts and medical applications were only briefly mentioned in my junior high and high school courses—for instance, the notions of the brain, the split brain (left and right), brainwaves, the mind, the conscious brain, the subconscious brain, and hypnosis. I became very interested in the human brain and self-improvement, and researched each of these subjects in the public library.

      On a regular afternoon in school, a friend requested to be hypnotized during lunch break. I agreed, and we went to a quiet section of the school, where I used a book I was reading about how to hypnotize. I read the text verbatim, and my friend was, to my surprise, put into a deep trance.

      I tested my friend: “Howl like a wolf;” “Bark like a dog;” and “Meow like a cat.” He complied each time. I then attempted to conclude the session, as per the book, but the process didn’t work. I felt a sense of failure.

      The lunch hour was over. We had to return to our classroom, which was signaled by a loud bell that made me shudder. Panic came over me because my friend was in a serious trance. I tried splashing cold water on his face, shaking his body slightly, and commanding him loudly to return to normal. My efforts failed. With no other choice, I sought out my teacher whom I respected. She followed me to the room where the hypnotism had taken place, and my friend was still in a hypnotic trance.

      My teacher was cautious with the situation because she saw the student was in a deep trance. She decided to go for help. The whole school went into panic mode—rumors were flying: “A student was under control of a hypnotist who was on campus putting students in a trance.” The rumors were not true. However, the students found out about my friend’s parents being called concerning his transportation to a hospital to see a psychiatric doctor, which caused great concern.

      My friend was transported to the hospital, with some school staff and me, and we met a doctor who questioned me about the incident. I gave a very detailed explanation about the script, and handed the book to the doctor.

      After the questioning session, I was escorted out and sent home with strict instructions to leave my friend alone and never to contact him again. The school staff kept the book and called for my mother to return with me to school the following day for a hearing. I was devastated about being cut off from my best friend.

      My mother was upset and grounded me because I was so involved with hypnotism. The school event was a major problem because it involved my friend. I was escorted to school to face the principal and any punishment. The principal explained the situation and stated: "You must agree to sign this statement.” It said: “I will never attempt hypnotism on any student again. I will report the incident to the school discipline committee for consideration of additional punishment, or this office will report you with a recommendation to seek professional help.” I signed the agreement and filed a written report that gave a short but honest explanation about how I felt ashamed about this serious situation because it was at the expense of a friendship being destroyed. Of course, the punishment was fair, and my experiments with hypnotism were over. The school’s discipline committee accepted my statement and closed the file.

      My friend recovered from the hypnotic trance. He was a grade behind me, but we ended up in the same grade in high school because of a later accident. This will be covered in Chapter 3.

      This part of my personal life journey was never planned or thought through during my eighth-grade year at a parochial school. It was happenstance. I was innocently involved because my friend knew of my interest and tested my knowledge of the subject matter. This incident was real, and the subject of hypnotism is very serious and a part of my past that was a learning experience.

      As an avid reader of nonfiction books who owns a library of personal improvement books, I now understand why I have such a collection—each book is a piece of the human puzzle. The human puzzle is complex and difficult to understand, but it is worth the effort of trying to solve the puzzle.

      However, the human puzzle is a “ball of confusion” created by men, women, love, hate, jealousy, politics, money, power, murder, theft, religion, land, medical care, race, water, food, and greed. “Ball of Confusion” was a hit song by the Temptations in 1970 about human behaviors that still exist today (January 1, 2016) —four decades of confusion.

      This e-book is about personal struggles with life that I want to share with you. “You can’t change your past mistakes, past behavior, or past bad decisions, but you can create your future.”

      Marcelle Hanemann

      It is now understood by the scientific community that people are made up not of dense matter but energy. As energy ourselves, we affect and interact with all energy. We truly create our own reality through our thoughts.

      If we focus on the negative, even worry, that’s what we get. But with intention, we can choose the positive instead. It isn’t easy because we live in a society that, often unwittingly, empowers the negative by giving it energy.

      Automatic negative thinking and automatic negative talk have, sadly, insinuated themselves into our daily routines.

      In the following, Jerry W. Agnew Sr, a former police chief whose thirty-plus years in law enforcement included creating and presenting innovative programs for students and adults, and who earned the title of National Deputy of the Year in 1986 as a result, shows us all how we can recognize and use our own creative power to silence the automatic negative thoughts (ANTs) and change our lives to embrace the positive.

      Jerry W. Agnew’s own experience was influenced by a lifelong fascination with the power of the human brain and mind by a worldly escape from death, and by a son, JC, who a doctor wanted to let die at birth but who overcame the challenges of open spine;—spina bifida—to live joyously and fully in the moment, to succeed in life, and to proclaim, “Life is wonderful!”

      Let Jerry W. Agnew Sr. show you how you can echo JC’s enthusiasm.

      NB—Ms. Hanemann is an outstanding individual and her Foreword statement is from the heart. I personally met her during my law enforcement career when she reported for a local