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!
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