Wavelengths
by
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Alexis was 6,000 miles away from home. Out of the blue, Kashi felt that he needed help. She phoned him. "I am sick," Alexis whispered to his wife.
Many of us have experienced a sudden feeling of concern for a loved one who is not physically present, whether he is oceans away or in the next room. It is amazing how often such feelings turn out to reflect reality. The Celts refer to this occurrence as "anam cara." Neuroscientists call it "brain coupling." Psychologists call it "telepathic love," and laymen think of it as a "sixth sense."
While peering into people's brains with fMRI machines, Princeton University neuroscientist Uri Hasson found that when two people profoundly connect... when we relate to another person on a deep level... the activity in our brains mirrors theirs. Even more intriguing, the stronger the connection between two people, the more they "click," and the more the brain scans mirror each other. This mind-melding between "kindred spirits," where brains start working in sync, has been verified in independent studies by researchers from UCLA, Dartsmouth and the University of Technology in Sydney.
Psychologists have long known that some couples begin to think like each other, allowing them to know what their partner is feeling or about to say. During this state, the part of each person's brain that controls the nervous system begins to beat together. At this point, when couples are literally on the same wavelength, they can often read each other's minds to some extent.
Surfing the same wave with another soul is an exalted feeling of pure bliss, a blessed joie de vivre. As Richard Bach wrote, "Our soulmate is the one who makes life come to life." Many people prefer the Gaelic term, "anam cara," which translates to "soul friend," one with whom we can read each other's hearts... the kind of camaraderie that affords comfortable communication.
After basic necessities such as food and shelter, effective communication is paramount. It leads to understanding, to tolerance and on to the possibility of agreement. Our world is so divided now, and disagreement between people is a universal issue. Imagine if wavelength skills could be amplified to a higher level; we could conceivably blow the doors off communication as we know it. Perhaps this is the sort of thing Einstein had in mind when he wrote, "Imagination is more important than knowledge."
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About the Book
According to a 2018 study by UCLA and Dartsmouth researchers, friends are "cognitively homophilous," meaning they share similar neural brain patterns. In layman's terms, the brains of friends respond in remarkably parallel ways, literally meaning friends are on the same wavelength.
Aristotle advanced this basic notion over 2,300 years ago, writing, "Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies." Aristotle was most likely philosophizing about the relationship referred to today as "soulmate." On the amity scale, soulmates are at the pinnacle. Because they can sometimes read each other's mind and think the same thought at the same time, this may be a spiritual bond.
Whatever wavelength we have is a gift from God, as He has all the bandwidth. His love for all of mankind, or agape (selfless) love, is a supreme passion that we can, at best, only try to imagine. This is a book about the best kind of human love... be it eros (romantic)... storge (familial)... or philia (brotherly)... the kind of love that comes from being on the same wavelength as another soul.
Wavelengths is divided into three sections. The first part, Exploration, consists of four essays, all dealing with love: love for the Venezuela that was, for a high-school military academy, for God and for a very special shady lady. The subsequent section, Excursion, is made up of bursts of love for trains, friends, a child, a woman and above all, God. Excursion also features vignettes on Las Vegas, boating, briefcases, Butler, Beatles and Joan Baez. The final section, Immersion, is comprised of five articles about a brilliant singer-songwriter, a unique human being and the author's friend, Mickey Newbury.
Join the author on this journey through his unique experiences, and you just might tune in to a few new wavelengths.
About the Author
Following the Second World War, Joe Ziemer's parents left Oklahoma for the sandy pastures of southern California. Born in 1948, Joe spent his early years in Bakersfield, a tough oil town. When he turned 12, the family moved south to an even tougher oil town... to Maracaibo, Venezuela... where Joe and his sister Paulette felt like they were the only blondes in the country.
Five years later, Joe graduated from Riverside Military Academy in Georgia as Superior Cadet. He then joined Los Hippies, a rock band in Maracaibo. The group performed early Stones and Beatles music, so much fun to play, plus it was an ideal way to meet girls. The U.S. Army lassoed Joe in 1968, assigning him to the top-secret Courier Service in Washington D.C.
After completing his military obligation during the turbulent Vietnam war era, Joe enrolled in College of the Redwoods, where he was honored to serve as Student Body President. Additional studies at the University of California at Davis brought a B.A. in Social Psychology and appointment as a Regents Scholar.
Joe has assisted worldwide broadcasters for 40 years, supplying transmission systems to radio and TV stations. In 1996, his Indiana firm won a prestigious Exporter of the Year award. The job has taken him to over 100 countries, and from his travels, Joe says he sees no difference between extreme left and extreme right governments. In both cases, the people suffer terribly.
Actively passionate about free speech, Joe served as Editor of Radio World International newspaper for five years. Joe has written several journal articles, and after years of study... he authored the acclaimed biography on his friend, Mickey Newbury - Crystal & Stone, first and second editions.
Joe is happily married to Roxanne and proud to be the father of five children.