LET'S TALK ABOUT YOUR BRAIN (PART 1)
Welcome to our two part series comparing Meditation and Hypnosis…
In this first part of our blog we learn about your brain - this is important in order to understand the similarities and differences between meditation and hypnosis.
Besides weighing about 3 pounds, it is 60% fat and one of the fattest organs in your body. And it can generate about 23 watts of power, enough to light up an entire room. It is an amazing organ that manages to provide us with all of our ability to move and all of our thoughts.
There is one thing that our brains are not and that is stagnant. Our brains don’t stay in one state all the time. Our brains move from state to state and we measure these movements by looking at the waves they produce. Brain waves are simply electrical impulses in the brain. Some of these waves are very big (high & slower) and some are small (short & faster). Brain waves fall into five categories ranging from the most activity to the least activity.
Beta (14-40Hz) – The Waking Consciousness and Reasoning Wave
Beta brain waves are associated with normal waking consciousness and a heightened state of alertness, logic, and critical reasoning, but they are also responsible for stress, anxiety, and restlessness. This is the state we are in while we work, have conversations and interactions in our daily lives.
Alpha (7.5-14Hz) – The Deep Relaxation Wave
Alpha brain waves are present when we are relaxed. They are the gateway to your subconscious mind and lie at the base of your conscious awareness. This is an optimal state for hypnotherapy because the constant chatter of the Beta state ceases to a large degree and the subconscious mind is open to suggestion.
Theta (4-7.5Hz) – The Meditation And Light Sleeping Wave
Theta brain waves are present during deep meditation and light sleep, including the all-important REM dream state. Your mind’s most deep-seated programs are at Theta and it is where you experience vivid visualizations, great inspiration, profound creativity, and exceptional insight. It is at the Alpha-Theta border, from 7Hz to 8Hz, where the optimal range for visualization and hypnosis or reprogramming of your mind begins. It’s the mental state in which you consciously create your reality. At this frequency, you are conscious of your surroundings however your body is in deep relaxation.
Delta (0.5-4Hz) – The Deep Sleep Wave
The Delta frequency is the slowest of the frequencies and is experienced in deep, dreamless sleep. Delta is the realm of your unconscious mind, and the gateway to the collective unconscious, where information received is otherwise unavailable at the conscious level. Deep sleep is important for the healing process as it’s linked with deep healing and regeneration. When people don’t get enough deep sleep it is detrimental to their health in more ways than one. Once a person is in the Delta state even though their subconscious mind is very active, hypnosis would not be effective because the person would not be able to hear the suggestions given. This is a time when the subconscious is like a computer sorting, filing, organizing, and discarding data.
Gamma (above 40Hz) – The Insight Wave
This range is the most recently discovered and is the fastest frequency. While little is known about this state of mind, initial research shows Gamma waves are associated with bursts of insight and high-level information processing.
Stay tuned - in a few days we will post Part 2 - Meditation vs. Hypnosis - a comparison