Meditation is nothing new to us. It's practice has been held through the ages within human societies; yet it seems as though the recent generations strayed away from this lifestyle and have forgotten its benefits. Fortunately, we didn't completely erase that tradition and other parts of the world maintained its practices.
Look around at the emotional society we dwell in.
It would not be controversial to exclaim that studies show we experience significantly higher amounts of stress compared to 'X' number of years ago.
How did this happen? Life was harsher back then and it's presumed to be gradually getting easier for us with every passing year.
Instead we have mental illnesses, anxiety, depression, and sensitivity running rampant on the streets. We see it bleeding into communities who shouldn't be inflicted.
Applying our basic knowledge of brainwaves, we can understand that a majority of society is functioning in a near non-stop beta-state loop. In these people, the other neural states aren't getting exercised nearly enough and as a result: beta is being overstimulated.
Which is why I mentioned today's sensitive communities; they're skittish from the compounding stimulus leading to their anxious aggression.
Reminds me of bug-eyed chihuahuas yapping at everything but their owner.
Take a second, breathe in – breathe out.
There has been a resurgence of holistic healing, medicine, and practices in recent years. Meditation and mindfulness has gone as far as being suggested in Western clinics with the promotion of reducing stress, mitigating anxiety, and improving sleep.
We can point out what Western medicine lacks and struggles with all day, but the fact is, a majority of it, is supported by scientific studies. This is the main benefactor of Western medicine, especially when directed towards fields that encompass topics like meditation and mindfulness. The proof provided by studies is usually the only way most doctors can suggest it to the larger part of society.
And the proof explains to us what we already knew: mindfulness and meditation is tremendous for the Mind.
To me, mindfulness and meditation is not the same.
Mindfulness is external awareness – I feel the warmth of the sun on my skin, I hear the birds chirping in those trees over there, I see a person riding their bike down the road.
Meditation is internal awareness – I could focus my breathing or observe thoughts drift by or completely relax the body.
I understand the skepticism here, how would slowing down and becoming more aware of things provide any sort of physiological improvement?
We go to the lifelong meditators of Zen Buddhism and Tibetan monks for answers.
In a study with Zen Buddhists, they found that the meditators would enter an alpha-state within minutes and were able to guide themselves into a theta-state. The EEG charts recorded from the Zen Buddhists during meditation could not be differentiated from EEG charts recorded on the alpha/theta states of a sleeping person.
Another study done on meditation realized that Tibetan monks have higher gamma activity than novice meditators.
The thing is, you don't need to be a Zen Buddhist or a Tibetan monk or hold certain beliefs or brought up certain traditions; everyone has the same wrinkly sponge behind their eyes and they all produce the same brainwaves.
Meditation begins by lowering from the beta-state and into an alpha dominant brainwave. This can be achieved by becoming more aware of the present 'now' moment. Easier said than done, but more common than it seems.
I like to picture a big cat slowly making its way through its territory just waiting to see if an opportunity might present itself to unleash its athleticism on some poor unsuspecting meal.
It's the same for humans, well, besides the whole coordinated effort to successfully pounce.
The thing that's similar is we can also become engulfed by our environment. When we find ourselves blended with the present moment, our thoughts flow freely within it.
This is the beginning of meditation - the mindfulness of the 'Now'.
The best part about it is you don't necessarily need to be sitting cross-legged to enter an alpha-state. You can be engaged in some sort of physical activity such as surfing, playing a competitive sport, or painting to blend in with the present.
Lets say we are sitting cross-legged for an extended duration, we'll come to realize that our minds naturally progresses from an alpha-state into a theta-state. If you recall, theta waves are associated with the lucid drowsiness and could be the reason why we have intricate dreams right before waking up. Many people intuitively feel that dreams contain some sort of subconscious meaning. As it turns out, theta-states are involved with emotional intelligence and subconscious processing.
How they discovered that is beyond me; my guess is it includes psychological associations with the physiological regions of the brain. In any case, I believe the combination of strengthening emotional intelligence and subconscious processing increases a person's intuitive power.
Going back to dreams, some people believe dreams are a way of processing and storing memory. Memories are interlocked with emotions - you remember how you felt at a place or how someone made you feel or yesterdays emotional events. If dreams are an expression of theta waves, I would consider that the better a Mind can illustrate a dream, the greater your ability to make sense of subconscious intuition.
I'm going to go off my rocker a little bit here and theorize that this is how psychedelics work and meditation-induced visions appear. But that would be a whole other post.
For most people, meditation normally only exists in the alpha/theta zones although meditation masters have been recorded to enter a delta-state during their practice.
Remember, delta waves are responsible for restorative healing and is usually done over eight hours of quality sleep with the average person. This is an extraordinary feat but isn't the goal of meditation for an everyday person.
Gamma initially caught my attention when I had come across an article claiming it's above the frequency of a neural firing - I don't think that's entirely correct.
Gamma waves were once known as “spare noise” hidden underneath the other waves until digital EEGs were able to see the quickest amplitudes of the brain.
Current research suggests gamma is responsible for how different areas of the brain communicates with each other - it's what connects the lobes to create the Mind. Gamma waves are considered to have the ability to bind every sensory input and process information from all over the brain which in turn perceives our reality. Because of this, I wonder if gamma waves are a pillar of consciousness.
So how are all these neurowaves involved with meditation?
In my humble opinion, the physiological purpose of meditation is to improve on the functionality of a brain, which then sharpens your Mind. All benefits from meditation stem from enhancing the other brainwaves and taking well needed rests from stressful beta-dominant states.
Think of the muscle-mind connection.
Do an exercise long enough and your coordination will eventually increase after the nervous system develops a stronger bond with specific muscle fibers.
By strengthening brainwaves with meditation, neural pathways are rewired and can improve upon bridges between areas of the brain.
Just like a muscle, the brain is also physically altered and if you don't maintain those bridges – they'll eventually fall apart with age.
The most powerful tool we can wield is built in the present moment.
REFERENCES
- https://mentalhealthdaily.com/2014/03/12/gamma-brain-waves-40-hz-to-100-hz/
- https://mentalhealthdaily.com/2014/04/12/theta-brain-waves-4-hz-to-8-hz/
- https://brainworksneurotherapy.com/neurofeedback-spiritual-development
- https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/what-is-the-function-of-t-1997-12-22/
- https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100319210631.htm
- https://www.stylecraze.com/articles/types-brain-waves-effects-meditation/
- https://www.gaia.com/article/meditation-and-brainwaves
- https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1440-1819.1966.tb02646.x
- https://www.tuw.edu/health/effects-of-meditation-on-the-brain/
https://eocinstitute.org/meditation/alpha-theta-delta-brainwaves-how-meditation-relieves-anxiety/
https://synctuition.com/blog/boost-your-brainwave-activity-with-binaural-beats-meditation/
