The Meditation-Brainwave Connection

Depending on what you are thinking, your brain creates a certain electromagnetic signature, we can measure with an  EEG. These EEG waves re commonly called brainwaves, and are classified into five types (delta, theta, alpha, beta and gamma)  based on the speed of their on-off activity.

Years of research shows that some very interesting changes in brainwave frequencies occur as people move toward higher states of mental awareness.

And because such awareness shifts often occur to meditators, it is  useful to review the brainwave states experienced by meditators.

Beta Brainwaves

Beta brainwaves range from 12 to about 30 on-off cycles per second (cps), and are  associated with active thinking, speaking, and analyzing. As such, the meditator must quiet their Beta brainwaves  to successfully enter into a meditative state.

Alpha Brainwaves
When brainwave activity is focused primarily within the 8 to 11.9 cps range, Alpha brainwaves are produced if you are relaxed and your eyes are closed. When your brain is generating strong Alpha brainwaves, you tend to experience a pleasant, and mildly relaxed, yet wakeful, state of awareness.

The deeper the Alpha state, the more likely a meditator will experience visual imagery behind their closed eyes. Such a deeper Alpha state is often associated with increased activity in the lower Alpha brainwave range.

When an EEG is used to measure Alpha brainwaves, it is seen that they occur both in bursts (trains of waves) and pulses (single waves.) More advanced meditators tend to produce continuous trains of Alpha waves. Research has revealed that persons such as artists who tend to use the visual and spatial abilities characteristic of the right-brain tend to produce Alpha more easily than more analytical, left-brain thinkers.

It is often possible to determine whether or not a person meditates, and also how long they have been practicing,  by simply looking at their Alpha brainwaves. Beginning meditators usually produce faster 10 to 12 cps Alpha brainwaves. But the dominant Alpha frequency deepens with longer meditation practice, and meditators with ten years of experience produce lower Alpha in the 8 to 9 cps frequency range that borders their deeper Theta brainwaves.

Theta Brainwaves
Theta brainwaves occur in the 4 to 7.9 cps frequency range. To the non-meditator, Theta is primarily experienced as the mental state just prior to dropping off to sleep, and also REM (rapid eye movement) sleep.

But to the experienced meditator with a well-established Alpha state, Theta is often characterized by a peaceful sense of bliss and well-being marked by spontaneous creativity and deeply meaningful personal or transcendental imagery.

Delta Brainwaves
Delta brainwaves are the slowest brainwaves, and range from 0 to about 3.9 cps. The Delta state is normally primarily associated with deep sleep, although many interesting mental states occur in Delta to those tuned into these lower brainwaves on a conscious level.

Generally only the most advanced meditators can remain awake while producing Delta brainwaves.

But some non-meditators also produce strong Delta states. Persons with natural ESP abilities, for example, are often able to focus consciously in the 3.8 to 3.9 cps range. And those with psychic abilities or deep intuition also tend to have more active Delta brainwaves.

Gamma Brainwaves
Gamma brainwaves are the fastest brainwave frequencies that have been commonly studied. Gamma brainwaves range from about 28 to 80+ cycles-per-second cps. Each cycle consists of an on peak, and an off valley.

Until recently, Gamma brainwaves were believed to be primarily present during highly focused mental activities or stress. But studies of expert meditators such as Tibetan Buddhist monks has shown that Gamma brainwaves in the 40 cps range are indicative of what experienced meditators describe as higher states mental clarity and insights.

For most people however, these potentially valuable high frequency Gamma brainwaves have little or nothing to do with higher states, and are more often only present during extreme stress.

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Are Near-Death Experiences Real?

New scientific research shines a new light on transformative near-death experiences – and proves they dramatically change how a person’s brainwaves operate. 

Willoughby Britton at the University of Arizona studied the brainwaves of persons who have had a positive, transformative near-death experiences. He found clear evidence their brainwave patterns are different from those who haven’t had a brush with death.

It’s interesting to see why some people are transformed and why some people aren’t… and whether studying people with positive near-death experiences can help the people who have negative experiences, Britton said. It’s a profound personality overhaul.

Britton found a distinct spike in activity in the left temporal lobe of people with positive near death experiences. The brain’s temporal lobe has often been implicated in reports of feelings of peace and tranquility — and the near-death reports of encountering a bright light, and having increased sensitivity to smells and sounds.

The left temporal lobe, the researcher said, is considered the God module, the part of the brain that connects with the transcendent. All of the activity that Britton recorded was from the left half of the brain — not the right half, which is more often associated with visual and spatial creativity.

“One hundred percent of the activity came from the left side, said Britton. There’s no logical reason for someone to have an accident and just have one side of their brain affected.”

Dr. Bruce Greyson, a psychiatrist at the University of Virginia Health System who also studies people with near-death experiences agrees with Britton, and feels this proves that the mind-brain interaction is much more complex than scientists previously thought.

That discrepancy suggests that “our concepts of the role of the brain in mental life, and particularly in what appear to be transformative spiritual experiences, is far too limited,” Greyson said.

All those in Britton’s study who came close to dying scored higher on an evaluation of their ability to cope with stressful situations than those who did not have such a near-death experience — regardless of whether their near-death experience had been transformative or not.

How Can I Get Clear Mental Focus?

Why is mental focus so important? Because your intelligence, creativity and other mental powers are really only as sharp as your mental focus.

Have you ever sat by the side of a stream doing nothing but allowing the sights, sounds and smells of nature flow over you? You had no phones ringing, and no pressure to be anywhere else … just the warm sun on your body, the birds singing, and the relaxing sound of the stream babbling along. Remember how calm and focused you felt?

Your State of Mind
Ever wondered why some folks are calm and have clear mental focus even when surrounded by pure chaos?  The one single cause is what’s happening in their brain.

At this very moment your brain is generating tiny electrical impulses that can be viewed on a monitor as brainwave patterns. The frequency of your brainwaves actually determines your state of mind, your mental focus, and how you react to your environment.

The Four Types of Brainwaves
Brainwave  frequencies fall into four major categories. Every state of consciousness you experience corresponds to one of these four brainwave patterns. And although Beta is the most common brainwave pattern, you normally also produce the other three brainwave patterns simultaneously.

BETA brainwaves are your fastest brainwaves, and occur when you are use your mind to think or analyze. Higher levels of Beta often make you feel anxious, stressed, or unfocused.

ALPHA brainwaves are produced when you are relaxed. These brainwaves are used for super-learning, increased concentration,  clear mental focus, and de-stressed relaxation. The lower end of Alpha serves as the link between our conscious and subconscious minds.

THETA brainwaves are present in dreaming sleep and REM rapid eye movement state. They are also present in deep meditation, spontaneous creativity ah-ha moments, and long-term memory. Theta is your deepest center of creative inspiration

DELTA brainwaves occur in deep dreamless sleep, trance-like states, or during any loss of bodily awareness. Delta is the source of ESP experiences, intuition and higher awareness. Many feel it is the gateway to the subconscious, and the collective unconscious or universal mind.

Mastering your Brainwaves
You already have some ability to control your brainwaves, although you may not be consciously aware that you’re doing so. But most of the time our brainwaves control us, so we react to what’s happening around us, instead of responding in more beneficial ways.

Wouldn’t you agree that a better strategy is to be able to change your state of mind to match the situation — instead of blindly reacting based on uncontrolled brainwaves?

A Clear Mental Focus Experiment
Try this one-minute experiment: Remember the sitting beside a stream scene at the start of this article? Go back and re-read that short paragraph then just close your eyes for a moment and visualize that scene as vividly and clearly as possible.

Know what you just did? You naturally slowed your brainwaves down from Beta to Alpha. It’s that simple. The problem is this: We are usually so caught up in our lives, we seldom take the time to do what you just did.

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