Posts
LITTLE
KNOWN SECRET,
HUGE BENEFITS
By Jim “Gymbeaux” Brown, January 20, 2026
Tao Te Ching said, “When the student is ready the
teacher will appear. When the student is truly ready... The teacher will
Disappear.” The
teacher has appeared, are you ready?
I had a great many occasions during my 20-year Coast Guard career and 33-year real estate career to have attended an unknown number of training seminars plus I had a goal of reading three books a month, every month. If you do the math, you will realize that I have read at least nine hundred books (probably more) during my real estate days. I do not say this to brag but rather to put two specific training events into their proper perspective.
Dr. Morris Massey gave the first most influential seminar that has forever affected the way I understand people’s thinking patterns, “You Are What You Are Because Of What You Were When You Were Ten.” It was the best training and most memorable event, EVER!
The second event was a presentation by Bob Davies where he discussed several topics, but one stood out from all the rest! They all began as to how the East Germans became so proficient in whatever sport they pursued, and we all saw the results of that during various Olympic events where they excelled. But why?
Davies explained it was not their actual training but rather how they prepared their brains to better receive the training. He went on to explain in great detail how music can change the way people think and learn. Not just any type of music, extremely specific music known as Baroque Music. Now that you have read Baroque Music you may be thinking, “Classical Music, is he joking?” I know that Classical Music is not the type of music that young teenagers and people in their early twenties and thirties and beyond would even admit to ever listing to but yes, if Baroque Music is Classical Music, then Classical Music it is.
Hopefully, you did not stop reading at the above point and you are still with me. I will attempt to share on this Nugget what Bob Davies taught us that day. There is a musical piece played at most weddings called The Canon, it IS Baroque Music. We have all heard it whether you wanted to hear it or not. To encourage you to keep reading, here is a link to one version of The Canon in d minor. If the link should not work, simply copy it and paste it to your browser: (It is only 6 minutes long)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NlprozGcs80
If you are still with me, and I hope you are, Davies explained that we humans are actually electrical beings and like all electric devices, humans give off electrical type brain waves. Electrical devices work on a constant electrical pulse while others may vary but human brains seem to give off very constant and consistent waves. To be honest, I understand that the human body is like a giant electrical factory where signals are sent throughout our body to ensure everything is working as it should. That is the point where my expertise ends. Still, I understood what Bob Davies was saying in regard to the human responding to certain music. We all have our preferences for the type of music we listen to. I am suggesting that you might want to consider listening to Baroque Music whenever you are reading and want to learn to comprehend more of what you are reading, or you want to be creative and paint or write as I am with this Nugget. I have created a personal Canon Playlist on Spotify. The list contains over 114 songs that would take 7 hours to listen to. Here is the part where you will no doubt call me crazy or out of my mind. Every one of the 114 songs is a version of the same song, The Canon!
Before I go any further, let me explain. The Spotify Track is on while I write this. The silent beats (waves) that you do not automatically identify continue throughout each of the 114 variations. The unconscious but intentional result of listening to so many versions of the Canon is simple. The music is relaxing. More importantly according to not only Bob Davies, but others as well, (see the report link listed below), the music becomes in sync with your brain wave patterns. It is like opening a door in your brain that heretofore has been closed. When that door is opened, you allow the free flow of information and ideas from what you are reading, what you are creating or if you are doing neither, it encourages total relaxation all of which are EXCELLENT! I know this because I have been doing this for over 30 years, ever since I attended the Bob Davies Seminar in Picayune, Mississippi in the 1990s.
Like all training seminars, Bob sold his training materials. I was so impressed with his presentation; I purchase many of his items but one in particular. It was a CD, remember CDs? This CD had nine different versions of The Canon. I wore that CD out once I began listening to it while reading and writing.
The point that goes unnoticed by most people, certainly not you, is that they actually begin listening to the first and even the second version but by the time the third version is paying they are no longer listening to each musical instrument or variation, instead, they find themselves deep in thought. It is as if the music is not even playing. You do not need to wear headphones for this to be effective but I find that wearing a good pair of noise cancelling headphones multiples the experience and the ideas just flow like water over Niagara Falls. They keep flowing for as long as you permit them to flow! I cannot tell you the number of people who I have heard make the statement that they are not the creative kind. Try this and see if that still holds true. I am guessing you will be surprised at the results.
I have the type of mind that whenever I read a book, I begin by trying to read it with the idea that I am going to learn something. I rarely read fiction. About 95% of what I read is more in line with the business I was in at the time. Like a fine-tuned athlete, I wanted to become better at what I did in my careers. As stated above, my goal was to read three books a month. I found it difficult to read them because as I read, my mind would wonder off and I found myself having read twenty pages but could not remember anything I had read since the third or fourth page because my mind WAS wondering. Something on one of the pages may have triggered a thought that caused me to begin thinking of how I could turn that thought into a Nugget for the Noggin like this one. Meanwhile, I had continued to read but could not tell you a thing I read after that one thought entered my head. I began to listen to the various versions of the Canon on my headphones as I read. Bingo! I remained focused on WHAT I was reading and if something triggered a thought, I either marked the page (I used the Kindle App on my computer and phone to read, marking a page is extremely easy). By marking the page, I could forget the thought and continue reading and return to the thought after I had finished a reading session. What a difference that one habit has made in my life in regard to reading retention.
I wish I had known about this practice when I was in high school and later in college. I had a challenging time learning because I knew my mind would wonder the moment something triggered thoughts about a subject. I would either have sat in the classroom with a mind that was racing towards a different goal than that being taught, or if I were reading the same thing was true. It was difficult for me to remain focused. Listening to The Canon changed all of that distraction in my head.
I just checked, since I started writing this particular Nugget, about nine different versions of The Canon have played and I could not tell you which one was which or which one I liked better than the others. The many versions of the Canon simply played while my mind was focused on the words that were appearing on the screen as I typed them and NOT on the music. It WAS the music, however, that encouraged and prompted me to write these words.
I honestly do not know how Spotify works and frankly I really do not care. The program has a feature that allows me to share a playlist or an individual song with someone. I believe you would have to have the Spotify App loaded on your phone and/or your computer for it to be transferrable. There are TWO versions of Spotify, the first one is free and includes occasional ads between songs. This was unacceptable for me because if you are using it as I do to read and write, the ads ARE a distraction. The second version is a paid subscription of $11.00 a month. I use the paid subscription. That is money well spent for me whether I am reading, which I often do, or writing, again which I often do or if taking a trip in my car, it is endless music, no ads, no interruptions! I like and prefer that one!
Below is a link to the Spotify playlist that I created, all 7 hours of The Canon. Try it, what have you got to lose? There are other selections of Baroque Music available other than just the Canon. As Bob Davies suggested, he had already done the homework on this and found that The Canon is the best for the benefits he wanted to see happen.
For a more recent update of what is going on in my life, upon the recommendation of both Tyrus and Greg Gutfeld, I began reading Scott Adams’ book Reframe Your Brain. The book is one of the best books I have ever read. It causes you to think about the way you think. At first, I just began reading and I realized I was having difficulty because it contains so many triggers to get you to think about the way you think, my brain began to wonder off into the ethers. The moment that I realized what was happening, I put my headphones on and tuned into the Spotify Canon Playlist, that all changed and reading AND comprehension became much easier for me. Again, try it, you will like it! Reframe Your Brain is a book that every one ought to consider as a MUST READ! If you cannot get something from the book that will improve your life, you were not paying attention while you read it!
Before I provide you with the 7-hour Spotify playlist, I want to leave you with a link to a website that explains in far greater detail as to how beneficial listening to Baroque Music can be. Check it out.
http://brainbasedbiz.blogspot.com/2007/04/baroque-music-helps-you-focus.html
The Spotify playlist link is:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6CIUg7oswxYNn9BdAAaYDv?si=2bc4a3b598074ec8
I paid money for that Bob Davies CD featuring The Canon, the above link gives it to you free of charge unless you want to subscribe to the paid version of Spotify. If you do not have Spotify on your computer/phone, here is the link to make that happen:
https://www.spotify.com/us/download/other/
BONUS THOUGHT! I would love to hear from you if you try this. Drop me an email to TheJimBrown@pm.me Let me know if and how it may have affected you. If you find that it works, imagine the success your children my have with their schoolwork if they were to get into the habit of listening to it as they study, create, or just relax!
ENJOY!
