RESEARCH

Compendium of some Research Projects of the Silva Course

in Chronological Order

Incarnate Word High School Project

 

This research was done to find out what benefits the high school students felt they received from the Silva course.

 

1. Incarnate Word School for Girls, San Antonio, Texas, 1972 Ray Glau, Don Kreipke, and Ron Bynum from Silva International, Inc.; Sister Miriam Garana, and Sister Teresa Connors of Incarnate Word High School

 

A total of 371 of the 460 students from seventh grade to seniors took the Silva course. The results were very positive. School officials were surprised that so many of the students reported that the Silva Course "helped me to remove feelings of depression and fear". Several students admitted that they had enrolled in the course because it was better than staying in class, but afterwards 96 percent said they were glad they had taken the course and felt it was worth the time. "According to the numerous interviews, my own observations, and the results of the questionnaire...! can honestly say that the project was highly successful! It is not a panacea, but when the principles of the Silva course are used effectively, it prepares the atmosphere in which confidence can grow, in which there can be personal and academic growth and achievement the type of growth parents and educators dream of - the total development of the person." Sister Miriam was visited by Father John Rilley, principal of Hallahan High School in Philadelphia, which helped open the way for the Silva course to be taught there and in two other high schools in the area, with full psychometric testing to determine the actual personality factors that change when students leam to use more of their minds to help them solve more problems. (See Research Project #8)

 

2. EEG Correlates of Attention in Humans

 

This research was conducted to demonstrate the capacity of the Silva course graduate to produce alpha brain wave rhythm voluntarily, and the compatibility of it with the conscious production of images. Trinity University, San Antonio, Texas, 1972. Drs. Frederick J. Bremner, V. Benignus, and F. Moritz.

The research demonstrated that "the Silva subjects were quite capable of producing the alpha rhythm" on demand. Published in Neuropsychology, vol. 10 p. 307-312 and 467-469, England.

 

3. Internal Focus as a Subset of Attention

This study was done to gather evidence on internal focus of attention as it relates to voluntary production of alpha brain wave rhythm.

Trinity University, San Antonio, Texas, 1972.

Drs. Frederick J. Bremner and F. Moritz.

Results: There was a relationship demonstrated between the onset of alpha rhythm in the EEG, the subject's unique subjective feeling, and the subject's verbal response that he or she was at a particular state of attention.

Silva Method Dynamics Center

Silva Mental Dynamics Center