If you want to utilize the power of meditation to effectively reduce your stress level, lower blood pressure, and make powerful changes in your life. You first must understand how the human mind functions and the different levels of meditation/brainwaves.
Fact: You have three minds, as outlined below;
Conscious Mind: Consciousness is the state of awareness and includes sensations, perceptions, memories, feelings, and fantasies inside of our current awareness. The conscious mind cannot always absorb disconnected information. It would be an information overload, so the conscious mind stores the data in the subconscious mind for later retrieval, which can be “recalled” by the conscious mind or by an astute psychoanalyst. Or it can be recalled by you through meditation or lucid dreaming, bringing it to your conscious awareness.
So, in essence, if you are a person who battles with depression but consciously do not know why you are always depressed, have anxiety, other unexplainable problems, etc. Then more likely, your answers as to why are stored in the subconscious mind (root problems) as stated below.
Fact: Depression can also stem from something tragic that happened to you in your younger years. You may not remember on a conscious level, but since that memory is stored deep inside the subconscious mind, it will contribute to you feeling depressed.
Subconscious: The subconscious is the part of consciousness that is not currently in focal awareness and comprises a composite of everything one sees, hears, and any information the mind collects that it cannot otherwise consciously process to make meaningful sense.
Unconscious mind: The unconscious mind is thought to be a deeper part of a person’s mind that works without the person knowing it. It mainly consists of the mental processes that occur automatically and are not available to introspection, including thought processes, memory, affect, and motivation.
Even though these processes exist, the subconscious mind stores this information to be retrieved by the conscious mind, as explained earlier.
Note: A lot of people confuse the subconscious mind with the unconscious mind. I still do not fully understand the unconscious mind, but I am studying to learn more about it since it can unlock some true powers.
Understanding Brainwaves
It is beneficial for you to know that the electrical activity emanating from the brain creates frequencies called brainwaves, as outlined below;
(1) These are the waves of alertness, a wakeful state. Most prevalent in the frontal lobes (where decisions are managed), Beta is usually seen in geometric distribution on both sides of the brain. It may be absent or reduced in areas of brain damage. If you are alert and awake, you are in Beta now.
(2) Special notes: Beta is usually typified by brainwave cycles of 15 to 40 Hz (cycles per second). Higher cycles of Beta Frequency typically equate to stress, anxiety, and overthinking as the conscious mind becomes misguided or reacts negatively to a given situation. High brainwave beta frequency also correlates to hypertension, increased heart rate, blood flow, cortisone production, migraines, and glucose consumption. Generally speaking, you do not want to experience the high beta state too often if you are concerned about your health.
(1) Considered as the brainwaves of meditation. Most prominent during light meditation and associated with relaxed wakefulness and creative thought where attention may wander, usually leading to daydreaming. Sometimes you listen to music, and your mind wanders a little bit. That is considered a form of meditation.
(2) Special Notes: Alpha is usually typified by brainwave cycles of 8 to 12 Hz and is best detected in the frontal regions of the head, on each side of the brain. Alpha is typified by partial conscious awareness and partial subconscious predominance at the same time. It is helpful to absorb information when in Alpha and is considered highly desirable for more effective studying, spell casting, and useful in thinking things through in/during a challenging situation. Still, it can be challenging to reach this state of mind when a person is troubled.
The use of Marijuana has also been linked to an increase in alpha waves in the brain. As a result, many people can focus /function better when they smoke, but it mainly depends on the strain inhaled since certain strains can cause overthinking, leading to paranoia.
(1) These are the waves associated with dreams, deep meditation, hypnosis, and sleep. You can easily be awakened from this state of rest. However, many people associate this drowsy stage with hallucinatory images, more fleeting and disjointed than dreams, and compare it to viewing a speeded-up, jerky series of photographic slides.
(2) Special notes: Theta is usually typified by brainwave cycles of 4 to 8 Hz. Now your mind is getting ready to separate from the physical body, manifested through astral projection vibrations. So I think that sometimes a person’s mind is always predominant in the Theta state of mind ( this would cause you to see things that are not there ), as for an average person, the mind would be dominant in the Beta state of mind.
(3) While in this state of mind, you can induce lucid dreaming, which is a phenomenon that you are still consciously awake while dreaming. I find this very exhilarating as you have more control of your dreams; you can speak to entities in this dream state and reach your higher self. And if you are lucky, you can find the crack in your mind that lies between the physical and spiritual realm—sort of like the Astral Projection crack, which differs slightly. So many mysteries lie in the human mind, that is for sure, but I love the allure of it.
(1) These waves are associated with a deep, dreamless sleep state with the total subconscious operation. It is proven that the physical body and brain begin to recuperate and recover at a heightened level. So, in essence, if you do not get enough of this deep sleep, your body will be more vulnerable to infections, diseases, and you possibly live a shorter life span.
(2) Delta is usually typified by brainwave cycles of 0.5 to 4 Hz and related with the state of Samadhi, the most profound state in meditation as appeared in ancient Indian Yoga text. Entering the delta state of meditation and maintaining consciousness at the same time is tremendously difficult. I would imagine this kind of meditation would be a phenomenon we yet have to experience.
Coma:
People sometimes enter into a coma state like from a serious illness/injury. This is the brain’s way of performing an emergency response to automatically enter into the deepest realms of delta for heightened physical recovery, trauma protection and mental recovery. This is a very good example of the brain’s natural response to a situation where it lowers brainwave activity for instinctual protection means.
The End
