Regarding lack of brains*
Biofeedback, if you've never tried it, is worth a shot. Many years ago I built an alpha meter and experimented with it for a while. You put two electrodes on your head and an "earth" clip on your ear lobe. The amplifier only outputs sound when your brain is generating alpha waves. So to start with you hear nothing. After relaxing you may start hearing something. Immediately you start to think "I can hear it!", your brain will go into a different mode and the sounds stop. You train yourself to prolong and intensify the periods of the alpha state. After this training it becomes possible to recognize and enter the alpha state without the use of an alpha meter. YMMV
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biofeedback
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electroencephalography#Wave_patterns
*Remember this? No you won't, your brain has been sucked out
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0079714/?ref_=nv_sr_1