Why Meditate?

Why Meditate?

Meditation takes you past the “beta” brainwave patterns of everyday life (see below) and plugs you in to what’s really going on with you. It’s food for the soul, vitally, physically, mentally and spiritually. When you meditate regularly you’re calmer, and it’s easier to sort out what’s going on for you on every level. From a place of peace, issues get resolved and figured out simply. You have the “aha!” moments that are difficult to access when you’re focusing on action oriented goals.

It’s also good for you on a purely physical level:

• Relief from stress and anxiety (meditation mitigates the effects of the “fight-or-flight” response, decreasing the production of stress hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline)

• Decreased blood pressure and hypertension

• Lower cholesterol levels

More efficient oxygen use by the body

Increased production of the anti-aging hormone DHEA

Restful sleep

(Source from info in italics: http://www.chopra.com/ccl/why-meditate#sthash.LCZ0l6mi.dpuf)

It also helps you trust yourself. Since it re-connects you to your spirit, who you truly are, not the “story of me” beta (surface) energy of flight or fight.

Connecting with theta and delta wave patterns can bring on the feeling of peace and silence, of deep transcendent joy. In this way it’s

trans-formative, since it reminds us of who we truly are deep down.

There are many benefits to meditation.

We use five brain waves when we meditate, beta, alpha, theta, delta and gamma.

1) 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.

While Beta brain waves are important for effective functioning throughout the day, they also can translate into stress, anxiety and restlessness.

The voice of Beta can be described as being that nagging little inner critic that gets louder the higher you go into range. Therefore, with a majority of adults operate at Beta; it’s little surprise that stress is today’s most common health problem.”

2) Alpha (7.5-14Hz) – The Deep Relaxation Wave

“Alpha brain waves are present in deep relaxation and usually when the eyes are closed, when you’re slipping into a daydream or during light meditation. It is an optimal time to program the mind for success and it also heightens your imagination, visualization, memory, learning and concentration.

It is the gateway to your subconscious mind and lies at the base of your conscious awareness. The voice of Alpha is your intuition, which becomes clearer and more profound the closer you get to 7.5Hz.”

3) Theta (4-7.5Hz) – The Light Meditation And Sleeping Wave

“Theta brain waves are present during deep meditation and light sleep, including the all-important REM dream state. It is the realm of your subconsciousness and only experienced momentarily as you drift off to sleep from Alpha and wake from deep sleep (from Delta).

It is said that a sense of deep spiritual connection and unity with the universe can be experienced at Theta. 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. Unlike your other brain waves, the elusive voice of Theta is a silent voice.

It is at the Alpha-Theta border, from 7Hz to 8Hz, where the optimal range for visualization, mind programming and using the creative power of your mind begins. It’s the mental state which you consciously create your reality. At this frequency, you are conscious of your surroundings however your body is in deep relaxation.”

4) Delta (0.5-4Hz) – The Deep Sleep Wave

“The Delta frequency is the slowest of the frequencies and is experienced in deep, dreamless sleep and in very deep, transcendental meditation where awareness is fully detached.

Delta is the realm of your unconscious mind, and the gateway to the universal mind and the collective unconscious, where information received is otherwise unavailable at the conscious level.

Among many things, deep sleep is important for the healing process – as it’s linked with deep healing and regeneration. Hence, not having enough deep sleep is detrimental to your health in more ways than one.”

5) Gamma (above 40Hz) – The Insight Wave

“This range is the most recently discovered and is the fastest frequency at above 40Hz. 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.”

Meditation and Singing

Meditation has many uses in this program. It connects you with your chakric energy system, subtle bodies, and multi-dimensional self. From there to the essence of your soul, the pure energy of peace and silence. By resonating with the “spirit you”, it’s that much easier to see the machinations of the “mind you” and all of its minions. You’re then way ahead of the game.

When singing, the mind can be used to do the technical work (“remember the high note”, take an extra big breath, don’t tense the jaw”), and not obsess an audience and our performance. Or tell us we’re unworthy in any of the myriad ways it can brilliantly torment us.

These ways are all learnt and un-learnt responses, and seeing through our own stuff we all know is a life-long path, but with focused meditation it’s that much easier to steer the way forward to achieve our goals.

Or just trust that it’s all going to be fine, taking a gorgeous, relaxed sideways breath in. Connecting with the infinite self, not worrying and letting go, seeing where your intuition takes you.

And we can only do this if the technical stuff is in place. Once there’s an off note or an exhausted breath, the attention is way off and it’s building bridges until we feel on safe ground again.

We find mastery when we sing from a place of peace and silence (ironic, I know, since we’re making noises, but this is the essence of all energy), knowing the song inside and out, having mastered its challenges.

Everything meets in balance. We don’t try to be perfect and good, we simply enjoy being authentic and flawed. We let it suck. We enjoy its moments of greatness. We forgive the so-so.

And it’s OK if it’s flawed, because so is everyone else. When you resonate absolutely with your perfect flawed self, in the moment, of course what you do will be great – how can it possibly fail? You’re connecting with you, the essence of you. And by doing so, you’re helping an audience connect with the essence of themselves.

Meditations:

5 minute meditation

10 minute meditation

Rhythm meditation

Related articles:

Level 2

The Four Pathways of Energy

The imagination pathway (river of energy)

The Chakras, and the multiverse

Spirit vs. Ego, the Old Battle

Zen qualities of singing