| Listening to music is one of life's great pleasures, | | | | achieve a relaxed, Alpha state, wherein the brain's |
| enjoyable not just for the sounds themselves or | | | | dominant frequency slows down and becomes |
| the artistry that creates them, but also for the | | | | more powerful. This can be very beneficial in |
| mental and emotional states music helps us reach. | | | | combating hypertension, and opens the door to |
| The music industry has responded to our need to | | | | deeper levels of the mind. But it is only the |
| relax and reduce stress by producing special | | | | beginning of what is possible with sound today. |
| recordings to soothe our frazzled nerves, but a | | | | The Meditation MP3 Revolution - Towards |
| meditation MP3 can do much more than relaxation | | | | Complete Mind Control |
| music. These sophisticated recordings can connect | | | | Meditation MP3s are more than just music. While |
| us with powerful inner talents that have been lying | | | | they generally do feature some kind of |
| dormant for years, waiting to be unleashed. | | | | instrumental music, which may be classical, New |
| The Tremendous Power of Music for Creative | | | | Age, or traditional relaxation fare as discussed |
| Visualization | | | | above, they include specially-designed tones that |
| If you're interested in this topic at all, there's a | | | | are intended to encourage the listener's brain to |
| good chance that, like me, you've listened to a | | | | operate at a particular frequency. It has long been |
| fair amount of instrumental, "New Age" CDs in | | | | known that the brain exhibits a |
| your time. Names like Kitaro, Vangelis, Jean-Michel | | | | frequency-following response, tending to mimic |
| Jarre, Andreas Vollenweider, Yanni, etc. will be | | | | the wave forms of sensory stimuli. Sound waves |
| familiar to you. I always preferred instrumental | | | | are the easiest way to harness this phenomenon |
| music over vocals, as the vocals distracted me | | | | to our advantage, and a raft of brainwave |
| from visualizing whatever it was I wanted to | | | | entrainment recordings has resulted. The specific |
| concentrate on. Although I enjoyed music in its | | | | techniques employed include binaural beats, |
| own right, I freely confess that I have long used | | | | monaural beats, and isochronic tones. |
| it as a tool, helping me to forget about quotidian | | | | These special recordings can be used to take you |
| problems and focus on a better future. And it | | | | places far beyond the reach of ordinary New Age |
| works! Music is very, very powerful when you | | | | CDs or relaxation music, entraining sound |
| learn to ride the waves of emotion that can be | | | | frequencies that are below the normal range of |
| generated by particularly resonant recordings. I | | | | the human ear (20Hz - 20 KHz) and which |
| didn't realize it at the time, but I was actually using | | | | correspond to the Alpha, Theta, or Delta |
| music to alter my state of consciousness. | | | | brainwaves associated with the subconscious and |
| What is the Difference between a Meditation MP3 | | | | the unconscious mind. Even the more exotic |
| and Relaxation Music? | | | | waves discovered quite recently, like Gamma and |
| Relaxation music is generally not designed to be | | | | Lambda waves, can be entrained with a |
| an emotional roller-coasters at all. Its main | | | | well-engineered meditation MP3. |
| objective is to help us relax and relieve stress, an | | | | For the purposes of creative visualization, a |
| important goal in the modern world to be sure, | | | | meditation MP3 targeting the Theta wave, or the |
| but a somewhat limited one nonetheless. Typically, | | | | boundary region between Alpha and Theta, can |
| such recordings feature soothing nature sounds | | | | be extremely effective, as the mind is particularly |
| such as waves crashing on a shoreline with | | | | receptive to "reprogramming" in this state. (For |
| seabirds calling out overhead, whale songs, or a | | | | more on Theta, see my companion article here |
| waterfall or rainstorm in some imaginary, | | | | on Ezines, Exploring Theta Waves - The Exciting |
| moss-covered rain forest in the Pacific Northwest. | | | | Implications of Theta Brain Waves for Learning |
| There are even more esoteric recordings based | | | | and Memory.) The right recording can get you to |
| on "space sounds" - electro-magnetic waves | | | | this state in as little as 10 - 15 minutes, and what |
| detected by the Voyager and other space | | | | you do once you get there is entirely up to you! |
| probes. Such recordings can definitely help us | | | | |