Brain Waves
There's a device called an electroencephalograph (EEG) that is used to monitor the minute electrical frequencies generated by the brain. It's been found that the brain operates at certain frequencies depending on the type of activity. These frequencies have been categorised as follows:
- Beta (14 Hz or above) is predominant when the eyes are open. It is considered the normal waking state.
- Alpha (7.5 Hz - 14 Hz) is predominant in the relaxed state with the eyes closed. It is the state induced before going to sleep and on first waking up, the half-awake, half-asleep state.
- Theta (3.5 Hz - 7.5 Hz) arises in certain stages of sleep.
- Delta (below 3.5 Hz) is common in children but is rare in adults.
I've mentioned before ("The Information Age") the importance of slowing the mind down. On a physiological level this slowing down is the process of slowing down these brainwaves. There are some simple exercises that you can do to assist in this. On waking up in the morning people usually wake with an alarm clock, opening their eyes and go straight into the day's activities. Instead lie in bed with your eyes closed and attempt to remember your dreams. Once you open your eyes you will be snapped from the alpha state into the beta state and in the alpha state you have better access to your unconscious mind. Performing mental calculations will also snap you into a beta state, so instead lie there and relate to what mystics call the impressions.
The impressions are the level below the conscious. An example of this is when you see someone walking down the road and you recognise the walk but can't place the person. You can tell, though, whether you like them or not and you may get certain other associations - you may relate them to work or to a particular circumstance. This is an impression. It's exactly the same as first impressions, which is why first impressions are so important. The problem is that we overlay our impressions with ideas that we get from our culture and our intellectual thought processes. If our friends tell us we should enjoy something then we will disregard our impressions that tell us otherwise. If we can relate to our impressions then we have access to real knowledge. Lying in bed operating at the alpha level enables us to do this, albeit for a short time. Ideally, you can learn to operate at the alpha level throughout your waking life. A process called neurofeedback can be used to train the mind to do this.
A common method of neurofeedback is using a computer linked up to an EEG machine where the brain's frequencies are used to play a game, for example a car that moves forward when the brain is operating at the alpha level and stops when there are beta frequencies. The user learns to move the car forward by relaxing the brain and in the process becomes familiar with the kind of state that the alpha frequency induces. This technique has been used with great success for treating autism and other mental disorders, but has tremendous potential even for 'normal' people.
