What Is Brainwave Entrainment Meditation?

If you want to understand what brainwave entrainment is all about then really the first thing tht you need to know is what brainwaves are in the first place. And no, contrary to the popular slang usage of the word a brainwave is not an idea. It actually refers to the frequency at which our brains operate and or thoughts occur to us.

There are various different frequency ranges in which our brains can operate, and these relate to specific functions, activities and states of mind. No two people are precisely alike, so it stands to reason that the precise boundaries of these frequency ranges varies between people, and in any case there is no clear distinction where you move from one into another - more of a gradual progression - but here are the names of the different brainwave frequencies along with the numbers as the are usually given and as the apply to most people.

Delta (up to 4 Hz) - Very deep meditation, deep dreamless sleep

Theta (4 - 8 Hz) REM sleep (dreaming), also shown during deep meditation and relaxation

Alpha (8 - 13 Hz) Relaxed waking state

Beta (13 - 30) Alert, active waking state

Gamma (30+) Excited, multi-sensory stimulation.

Brainwave entrainment is a process where you try to use various forms of sensory stimulation, usually some form of rhythm (actually usually rhythm produced through interference between two different sounds) / and or flashing lights set at a particular frequency, to make a persons brain operate at that same frequency and so 'entrain' it to a particular state.

This can be used to help people to relax, to put people is an optimal state of mind for learning new things, to make them more receptive to hypnotic suggestion, and many, many other uses.

Here are the main methods that are used for brainwave entrainment:

Binaural Beats

Monaural Beats

Isochronic Tones

Flashing Lights (Photic)

Because 3 out of four of these methods uses sound people often combine them with appropriate music to make them even more effective, and also more pleasant to use.

There are many ways that brainwave entrainment can be and regularly is used for meditation. It can be used to help a person enter a deeply relaxed state of mind for meditation and quieten the internal chatter of the mind. It can be used for entering the specific range of brainwave activity that it best for visualizations or affirmations of whatever you wish to do. There have also been studies which record the brainwave activity of experienced practitioners in disciplines such as zen buddhism, allowing you to entrain yourself to the same frequency to help you more easily acheive the results that you wish to acheive from your meditation.