Meditation
is the practice of maintaining a state of complete mental stillness.
It is through this stillness that one becomes a conduit through which
inspiration and cosmic knowledge flows. Visionaries, spiritual
leaders and gurus all say it – meditation is an essential part of
daily life. It provides clarity, improves cognitive abilities, and
helps you in remaining calm and stress-free throughout your day. But,
if you're like most people, you may find it hard to meditate. The
mental chatter or, as some like to call it, “the monkey mind,” is
all-consuming, and despite your best efforts to stifle it, it
possesses no will to simmer down.
Luckily,
for those of you whose thoughts are in a state of perpetual motion,
there's a fun alternative that'll finally put the clamps on that
monkey's mouth, and allow you to experience all the benefits that
meditation has to offer. How? By incorporating binaural beats into
your meditation practices.
So
what are binaural beats? To put it simply, binaural beats are sounds
that synchronize your brainwaves to a certain wavelength: beta,
alpha, theta, or delta. Each of these neural oscillations are
associated with a different level of consciousness, and different
benefits.
If
you're awake and walking around, your brain is operating in beta, a
frequency of about 13 - 30 Hz. This is our normal, waking brainwave
level. It provides for thinking, conversing, and everything else we
do when we're awake. Alpha is associated with relaxation and
reflection, an inner peace, and hovers around 8 – 12 Hz. It puts
you in the “chill-out” zone, like closing your eyes and relaxing
while you're awake. People who are able to access alpha are said to
experience better results on physical and mental tests.
Theta
is a very relaxed state that is associated with meditation and some
sleep states, its frequency being at 4 – 7 Hz. It is in theta that
we experience extreme relaxation, enhanced creativity and innovation,
and vivid mental imagery. When in theta, the human mind is very open
to suggestion – so theta binaural beats can be used in
self-hypnosis. The next wave oscillation is delta, which is a
frequency of 3 Hz and under, and is associated with deep, dreamless
sleep. Don't expect to stay awake while listening to a delta binaural
beat though – you're almost guaranteed to fall asleep. Even Zen
masters can find it difficult to remain conscious.
For
binaural beats to work, simply plug in some headphones, listen to the
audio, and experience. By synchronizing your brainwaves to alpha,
theta, or even delta, you will enter a meditative state induced by
the binaural beats. It's quite an interesting feeling your first few
times. If you're feeling adventurous, give it a try and let us know
how it worked out for you!
Download
the “Get
High Now” app
on the iPhone to experience a number of binaural beats, mind blowing
audio loops, and amazing auditory illusions, or use the good old
Google to find more ways to listen.
