KNOW YOUR BRAIN WAVES BEFORE MEDITATION

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BETA, ALFA, THETA AND DELTA STATE OF MIND


Beta is the so-called conscious level of mind. Alpha and Theta form the subconscious regions of the mind's operation, and Delta is the unconscious region of thought activity. These states form the spectrum of mind operation.

your brain waves operate at a level called Beta where they mainly oscillate between 14 to 30 cycles per second.
As your mind relaxes and disconnects somehow from the external material world - like when you're daydreaming or meditating, or watching a movie - you enter a more focused, expanded state of awareness where brain wave patterns are mainly composed of Alpha brain waves oscillating at between 8 and 13 cycles per second.
When relaxing even more, your mind enters a region that correlates with a large relative quantity of brain wave patterns of 4 to 7 cycles per second. This is the Theta zone of the mind. The Beta level corresponds to a focus of concentration by the mind upon the outside or perceptually separated world, and the Alpha and Theta levels correspond to a more internally focused, self-reflective state.

Each human being experiences the Theta level for a fleeting moment every night before the mind dips down from the Beta level of awareness (awake state), to the Delta state (brain waves of less than 4 cycles per second: deep sleep), and passes rapidly through the Alpha and Theta states to enter the profound sleep level, where consciousness of self is totally lost, and where even dreams do not occur. (When dreaming, a sense of self is necessary and the mind has to go back up to the Theta or Alpha state.)
Delta is the level of the mysterious universal mind. It is the level at which the differentiated self (ego) expands to become undifferentiated and operates outside of the confines of linear time/space.


Alpha, Theta and Delta (sleep) are defined as "altered states of consciousness," as opposed to Beta, which is considered to be a fully conscious state. They are so called because it is necessary to alter one's state of consciousness from the fully awake state (Beta), to either Alpha, Theta or Delta (sleep), which are all progressive states of expanded awareness and thus are subject to less vibratory interference from the biological brain.
Beta is the so-called conscious level of mind. Alpha and Theta form the subconscious regions of the mind's operation, and Delta is the unconscious region of thought activity. These states form the spectrum of mind operation.

Small children function mainly at the Theta, Alpha and Delta states of mind, as do animals. Human adults operate mostly at Beta.


While the ego (awareness of self) is present and one is in the Beta, Alpha, or Theta state, all levels of the mind operate at once. One only concentrates more on one level than on another, showing therefore more brain wave patterns pertaining to the one band of operation the mind concentrates upon. Nevertheless all patterns are always present, defining life. It is only at death that this spectrum disappears.

In a nutshell: As the mind focuses upon the external (perceptually separated and material) world, it is at the Beta level. When the mind focuses and increasingly concentrates self-reflectively upon itself and its inner processes, it climbs in awareness from Alpha to Theta, and finally to Delta.