Racing mind to Quiet Mind
So many people are suffering with a racing mind these days. A reiki practitioner is likely to have many clients with this challenge. Music with brainwave entrainment frequencies can be a powerful addition to the healing session. It can be a great complement to reiki to assist your client to quiet the mind easily and quickly.
There are certain characteristics to look for in music you want to choose for helping your client quiet the mind. Which also results in creating the relaxation response.
Entrainment
“Entrainment is the synchronization of organisms to an external rhythm.” (Wikipedia). Entrainment is natural and automatic to the human being. Entrainment is also the synchronization you and your client create together during a session as you connect for the purpose of stimulating healing.
It particularly applies to music. For example, when you walk into a grocery store, there is always music playing. It takes only minutes for your heartbeat to match the rhythm of the music. This is an automatic response of the human heart to rhythm in music. We can’t turn this off. It happens even if you don’t even notice the music playing in the store.
A racing mind and a racing heartbeat often go together. When you choose music with a slow rhythm, the heartbeat will slow down to match the rhythm. Since the heartbeat, breathing and brainwave rhythms are all intimately connected, a slower heartbeat will encourage the mind to slow down and quiet.
Deep healing occurs in the alpha and/or theta brainwave states. In these states the client, with the help of the practitioner have access to those areas of the mind that we usually don’t have conscious control over, like pain, deep emotional issues, subconscious beliefs, immune system, and so much more.
Brainwaves
Music with brainwave entrainment frequencies focuses on directly changing the brainwave state to quiet the mind, which also results in the body relaxing deeply and easily.
To understand brainwave entrainment, it helps to understand a bit about brainwave states. Although there are more brainwave states than the four I will be discussing below, these are the predominant ones.
While I will be talking about brainwaves individually, all four are present at all times – one may be more dominant depending on what you are doing. If you have had an electroencephalogram done as part of a medical checkup, you may have seen the four recordings on the strip chart. Just like sound, brainwaves are measured in Hz – one Hz being one cycle per second.
Beta brainwave state is measured at approximately12 to 30 Hz. When we are awake, we are predominantly in the Beta brainwave state. This enables us to focus our attention on every day activities, and the world around us. This is a representation of a Beta brainwave pattern over a time of one second.
If you look out the window and start to daydream, then you may experience moving into the Alpha brainwave state. The signals are farther apart – the frequency is slower and typically falls in the range from 8 to 13 Hz. Sometimes, when you close your eyes – brainwave dominance can shift more out of Beta and into Alpha.
As the frequency of the dominant brainwaves drops lower and lower towards 8 Hz, a meditative state deepens. You feel calmer, the mind slows down more, and the heartbeat and breathing slow down.
As we continue to slow brainwave frequency down to 4 to 8 Hz we enter into Theta brainwave state. Stimulating this brainwave state creates a way for your brain to learn very quickly – essentially accelerated learning. In a Theta brainwave state you are able to remember things better, you can learn faster, read faster and there is also a connection to high degree of creativity.
Have any of you ever experienced a dream that seemed so real that you weren’t sure if you were sleeping or awake? This kind of experience is an example of the mind working in the Theta state.
Shamanic work is usually done in this state. We also move through this state just before we fall asleep. Compared to the predominant beta and alpha states, in this state the body feels deeply asleep or relaxed while the mind is quite alert.
Delta brainwaves are usually predominant in deep sleep or a coma. The body also goes into deep repair while in deep sleep. Those people who suffer from insomnia or sleep deprivation who don’t experience the delta state during sleep can suffer serious consequences to their health and wellbeing.
Some people, experienced in meditation, have been measured in Delta brainwave state. Although it’s rare to achieve this state while awake, there is evidence to support it. Delta brainwave state occurs at very low brain wave frequencies of 4 Hz down to just 0.5 Hz
How Brainwave Entrainment Frequencies Work
Here’s how it works. First, put on your imaginary set of headphones. We are going to play a single frequecny, for example we’ll play a tone at 440 Hz, in your right ear only. And we will play a single tone of 448 Hz in only your left ear.
When you listen to these sounds through headphones, a very interesting thing happens to the brain. The left side of your brian hears the 400 Hz tone, and the right side of your brain hears the 448 Hz tone. Remember, each half of your brain hears from the opposite ear. Because the tones are different, the hemispheres of the brain connect and open and activate more of the brain. This is called hemispheric synchronization.
But the brain also hears a third tone. Actually it is more of an electrical signal than an auditory one. That tone is the difference between the frequencies of the two sine waves. That is, 448 Hz minus 440 Hz equals 8 Hz.
The result is that the brainwave state shifts into the frequency of the difference between the two sounds, quickly and easily. In this example, the difference is 8 Hz, which is in the Alpha range.
The listener shifts into a meditative state effortlessly. And the body responds with deep relaxation.
Caution
A word of caution. The sounds and frequencies used in brainwave entrainment have been known to trigger an event in those who are prone to seizures. This music has a powerful effect on the brain.
Please use with respect and caution for those who may be prone to these events.
Choosing Music with Brainwave Entrainment Frequencies
Two companies I love to recommend to people for purchasing music with brainwave entrainment frequencies also pioneered the research in the field.
Robert Monroe is the best known for his decades of research in brainwave entrainment. Monroe’s research was conducted at The Monroe Institute, where he identified hundreds of levels of consciousness using these frequencies. His company, Hemi-Sync (www.hemi-sync.com) is where you can find a huge variety of music programs to choose from.
Another pioneer in brainwave entrainment frequencies is Dr. Jeffrey Thompson. You can find a great deal of information about his research and music programs at www.neuroacoustic.com.
About Sharon Carne:
Sharon Carne, BMus, M.F.A. is an author, speaker, musician, recording artist, sound healer, Reiki master and consultant. Sharon is the founder of Sound Wellness, whose programs are at the forefront of education in how sound and music can be easily applied to your everyday life – to reduce stress, help you concentrate, energize you, inspire you, support your health and so much more.