What Does Binaural Beats Technology Have To Do With Meditation?
Can science and spirituality get so close together?
In 1913, Nobel Prize winner Ramon y Cayal announced that our brain cannot develop and that our mental and emotional capacities are fixed once and for all. In other words, he authoritatively stated that we are unable to exceed a certain limit set by the resources we were born with.
The scientific discoveries of the late 20th century indicate that Ramon y Cayal was (and fortunately!) wrong. It turns out that our brain is very plastic, it can develop, and it can even change its structure throughout our lives!
What’s more — it has been proven that through regular exercise, we can influence its functioning, achieve permanent changes in its network and, as a result, affect our mental, emotional, and spiritual state.
In 1973, Dr. Gerald Oster published in Scientific American a groundbreaking article entitled “Auditory Beats in the Brain”. This article described the effects of the so-called “binaural beats”, i.e. sounds of different frequencies simultaneously stimulating our brain.
How is this possible?
Oster conducted a series of tests where a person was transmitted 200 Hz sound to one ear and 210 Hz sound to the other. Well, it turned out that each time our brain started to generate a frequency that was the delta of the above two!
At the same time, Robert Monroe (Monroe Institute of Applied Sciences) conducted thousands of experiments using EEG tests to monitor the brainwaves of test subjects. He also confirmed that by stimulating the hearing organ with different frequencies, the work of our brain can be stimulated.
Moreover, he confirmed that not only the part of the brain responsible for controlling the sense of hearing adapts to the differential frequency.
Not only one of our cerebral hemispheres, but the ENTIRE BRAIN, both hemispheres simultaneously resonate with waves of the same frequency and amplitude and they are absolutely compatible in their phases.
This led, among others to create the concept of the so-called “Whole-brain functioning”, i.e. a situation in which we can use both hemispheres of our brain equally.
As a rule, in our everyday life, we mainly use one of them.
In a nutshell, the left one is responsible for logical and rational thinking. In the left hemisphere, for example, all mathematicians, engineers, and lawyers “operate”. It allows us to soberly assess the situation, make decisions, and solve common problems.
The right hemisphere is the home of emotion, creativity, imagination, and “non-linear” thinking. Mainly painters, musicians, and dancers, but also writers and inventors work here. It is also the hemisphere of people who display a high level of empathy and intuition.
So what was the significance of the discoveries related to “whole brain functioning”, especially for the field of personal development?
Let me quote here another scientist, deceased neurochemist, Candace Pert of the National Institute of Mental Health:
“There’s revolution going on. There used to be two systems of knowledge: hard science — chemistry, physics, biophysics — on one hand, and, on the other, a system of knowledge that included ethology, psychology and psychiatry. And now it’s as if lightning bolt had connected the two. It’s all one system neuroscience … The present era in neuroscience is comparable to the time when Luis Pasteur first found out that germs cause disease.”
These discoveries brought the worlds of science and spirituality closer together. Scientists have studied the work of the brain of “mystics” who, as a result of many years of spiritual practice, achieve states of deep meditation. The results of these studies are extremely interesting.
Please see below a summary of the waves that our brain generates — depending on what state we are in:
Beta waves — (14–30 Hz) are typical for the state of concentration, problem-solving, and cognitive processes.
Alpha waves — (8–13.9 Hz) are typical for states of relaxation, and rest, but also the so-called accelerated learning and increased serotonin secretion.
Theta waves — (4–7.9 Hz) characterize the phase of sleep, accompanied by dreams, but also the state of intense work of our subconscious.
Delta waves — (0.1–3.9 Hz) is a state of sleep without dreams, but also experiences related to the lack of “corporeality”.
The lower we go down with frequency, the more noticeable the synchronization of both cerebral hemispheres is. This phenomenon was observed during research conducted on a group of people experiencing states of deep meditation.
During the meditation process, a successive decline in the dominant role of one of the hemispheres and the entry into a state of absolute harmony of the whole brain was observed.
It has also been shown that the Alpha wave category corresponds to the state of deep relaxation and definitely increased learning capacity. It is also a state of increased production of serotonin, the “happiness hormone”.
One of the first researchers to observe the phenomenon later referred to as “super learning” was the Bulgarian psychiatrist Georgi Lozanov. He researched a group of students who were put into a state of deep relaxation as a result of brain wave stimulation at the Alpha level. Lazanov showed that this group of students was able to absorb five times more material than the rest (!).
Other studies confirm that there is a clear relationship in the brain between a specific category of waves and the production of chemicals such as beta-endorphins, acetylcholine, vasopressin, and serotonin. Acetylcholine deficiency causes, for example, problems with memory and a decrease in results in intelligence tests.
Another researcher, Dr. Vincent Giampapa, who sat, inter alia, in the chair of the American Board of Anti-Aging Medicine, showed that being in Alpha and Theta states has a significant impact on the production of such hormones such as cortisol (decrease) and DHEA and melatonin (increase).
We all know the ads about DHEA. We also know that melatonin improves sleep. Cortisol, on the other hand, is one of the hormones that accelerate the aging of the body. It gives off instantly in any situation in which we are exposed to high stress.
In addition to all of the above-mentioned effects, there is one more — extremely interesting.
Bringing brain waves down to the Alpha, Theta, and Delta levels change the structure of the neurons in our brain and “forces it” to reorganize itself to a higher level. This effect was described in the theory of open systems by Ilya Prigogine, winner of the 1977 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
Prigogine’s work applies to any type of open system. Simply put, an open system is one that exchanges energy with the environment. It can be, for example, a dividing cell, a highway network, a corporation, or a person experiencing emotional changes. More details on this can be found, for example, in Bill Harris’s book Thresholds of the Mind.
Our brain is also an open system that constantly exchanges energy with the environment. But when there is too much information on the “input”, it reorganizes itself and moves to the next level. One could use a simple metaphor for physical exercise. As a result of regular exercise, our muscles also get more “power”.
In any case, stimulating the brain with waves from Alpha, Theta, and Delta levels creates new nerve connections and new pathways between the hemispheres. Thanks to this, the brain reorganizes itself and can provide us with opportunities that we had not had a clue about so far.
The whole thread above is really a scientific description of the changes that occur in the brain of a person who meditates regularly.
Because the states of Alpha, Theta, and Delta are deeper and deeper states of meditation. All the details contained herein describe the physical, measurable effects of the changes that occur as a result of meditation and explain in strict, dry language why it is so beneficial.
However, years of practice are needed to achieve these effects through traditional meditation. On the other hand, the conclusions drawn from the research presented here clearly indicate that it can be achieved much faster by stimulating the brain with waves of appropriately different frequencies. There are already plenty of products in the Western world that use binaural beats technology.
So let’s give ourselves and our brain permission to rest regularly. Especially from blue screens overloaded with information. If we do not have the chance to practice retreat in our home regularly, let’s look for a way to walk regularly among the greenery.
Green nature has a fantastic soothing effect and helps to slow down. If possible, let’s also go barefoot!
Because it turns out that Mother Earth has a priceless reservoir of energy to offer, and we cut ourselves off from it by spending time in our cars and walking in shoes with soles that insulate us from her beneficial influence.
But about it in one of the next articles...
