Re: serious question--relaxation tapes

[Guest guest]

An observation about the distinction between " relaxation "

and " meditation " tapes.

There are three primary brain waves: Alpha, Beta, and Theta. Alpha

is the normal " awake " state, Theta is the " deep sleep " state, and

Beta is that in between, " drifting " state. Sound can play a very

important role in achieving either a " relaxed " or " meditative "

state. While it is possible to be " relaxed " with all three brain

wave states, that is not true for meditation.

The goal of meditation is to put yourself into a brain wave state

that is right on the edge between Beta and Theta. There are many

ways to do this - tapes, bio-feedback, self-hypnosis, etc. Sound

can act as a very powerful assist in achieving it. To be effective,

however, that sound needs to be random. A rhythmic, repetitive

sound can help induce relaxation but actually interferes with

reaching that Beta-Theta wave. Much of the so-called " New Age "

music is written with just this in mind.

It is also a factor in many of the energetically oriented bodywork

modalities. The soft, peaceful, random sounds help " entrain " the

brain waves of the practitioner and patient/client. In other words,

they help put the two in sync with each other. From what I have

read, entrainment occurs at the Beta/Theta interface. And

everything I have read about the subject says that this is when the

healing interactions occur.

[Guest guest]

An observation about the distinction between " relaxation "

and " meditation " tapes.

There are three primary brain waves: Alpha, Beta, and Theta. Alpha

is the normal " awake " state, Theta is the " deep sleep " state, and

Beta is that in between, " drifting " state. Sound can play a very

important role in achieving either a " relaxed " or " meditative "

state. While it is possible to be " relaxed " with all three brain

wave states, that is not true for meditation.

The goal of meditation is to put yourself into a brain wave state

that is right on the edge between Beta and Theta. There are many

ways to do this - tapes, bio-feedback, self-hypnosis, etc. Sound

can act as a very powerful assist in achieving it. To be effective,

however, that sound needs to be random. A rhythmic, repetitive

sound can help induce relaxation but actually interferes with

reaching that Beta-Theta wave. Much of the so-called " New Age "

music is written with just this in mind.

It is also a factor in many of the energetically oriented bodywork

modalities. The soft, peaceful, random sounds help " entrain " the

brain waves of the practitioner and patient/client. In other words,

they help put the two in sync with each other. From what I have

read, entrainment occurs at the Beta/Theta interface. And

everything I have read about the subject says that this is when the

healing interactions occur.