Waves of Experience

Waves of Experience is a guided session that begins with descriptions of waves that occur in nature to include brain waves. Brain waves are discussed in relation to mindfulness and meditation. The listener is then invited to join in a guided visualization which progresses into a present moment awareness.

Transcript

Hello,

My name is Jay and I will be your guide for this session.

This session is titled Waves of Experience and the reason for that is because I will be discussing the nature of waves,

Waves in nature,

And that includes brain waves and how they relate to mindfulness and meditation and brain activity and experience more generally.

I'll then invite you to join me in a meditation where I will lead a guided visualization which will then progress into more of a present moment awareness and observation.

So I'll start with waves that can be found in nature and it's remarkable that some form of wave can be found in various layers,

I suppose,

Of what we experience.

So,

For example,

Seismic waves,

The ground that we stand on.

There are seismic waves that occur as a result of volcanic eruptions and earthquakes and it can be felt and experienced.

There are ocean waves,

Which are,

I think,

The most apparent form of wave that we can observe in our experience.

There are sound waves,

Which can't be seen,

Typically,

But can certainly be observed in that the vibrations that occur as a result of me speaking,

Acoustic waves,

Travel through space from the source of output,

Which is myself,

To the source of input,

Which would be a microphone in this case,

And so on and so forth.

There are electromagnetic waves,

Which are abundant.

The light that we see is a form of electromagnetic wave.

X-rays,

Microwaves are also forms of electromagnetic wave.

And then there are brainwaves,

Which are also electromagnetic waves,

Invisible to the human eye,

But very much a part of our experience.

So,

Brainwaves occur in correlation with the activity of neural networks in the brain.

So,

The range at which brainwaves are being emitted,

The frequency range,

Is correlated with activity in the brain,

Depending on the areas of the brain that are being activated,

The intensity at which they are activated.

And so,

There's a very,

Very close relationship between the actual firing of neurons and the waves that are emitted as a result of the firing of neurons.

Brainwaves are measured in hertz,

Or cycles per second,

And that is cycles in terms of peak-to-peak.

How quick is the turnover from peak-to-peak?

Is it rapid,

Or is it very slow?

And so,

Brainwaves are categorized by their frequency in hertz,

Or cycles per second.

So,

Delta brainwaves are typically found in deep sleep,

But also in babies and young children.

And the propensity towards emitting delta waves significantly reduces around adolescence,

11 to 14 years old,

Roughly,

But is still found in deep sleep after,

But just in to a lesser degree.

And that is brainwaves that are occurring at less than one hertz.

There are theta brainwaves,

Which occur between one and four hertz,

And that quality of brainwave can be found in deep meditation and also in during sleep as well.

And so,

It tends to be a very restorative brain state.

There are a lot of repairing mechanisms that are activated as a result of this brain state.

Alpha brainwaves occur between four and 12 hertz,

And is typically thought of as sort of present not necessarily being preoccupied with any particular stimulus,

Whether it be thoughts or something that is in the external world that you're maybe just engaged with in some way.

But it's being sort of observational in the moment.

Beta brainwaves,

On the other hand,

Are more.

.

.

They're expressed predominantly when we're working or working on something.

Or in the case that we're thinking of things that we have to do,

Things that we would need to plan for.

And so,

It's very,

Very.

.

.

It can be taxing as a chronic brain state,

But it is clearly,

Clearly got a lot of utility as a.

.

.

And again,

I'm saying as a brain state,

Because it is the brain state that is causing the emission of the brainwave,

But the two are necessary in order to maintain continuity.

So,

But that beta brainwave is indicative of a certain neurological context.

And in this case,

That would be work or things associated with to do.

That's also characteristic of the default mode network as well.

You know,

In that is typically associated with rumination about the past or anxieties about the future,

But certainly a preoccupation with the self and action in the world and planned action in the world.

Above the beta range,

Which occurs at 12 to 40 hertz,

Above the beta range,

Which occurs at 12 to 40 hertz,

With a little bit of overlap,

Is the gamma brainwave.

And that would be between 30 and 80 hertz.

And that is.

.

.

Has a much,

Much quicker cycles per second,

Much quicker turnover rate,

And is associated with intense focus.

And possibly,

I guess,

Could be even described as ecstasy.

It's an incredibly engaged sort of state to be in.

Very,

Very high functioning,

Very,

Very,

Very high necessity for sort of like resources in order to maintain that state over a long period of time.

It is also very taxing.

And then beyond that would be ultra fast frequencies,

Which occur at a greater than 100 hertz.

And that is sort of a unique brainwave that's being emitted.

It's.

.

.

There's not.

.

.

I don't think there's nearly as much research in it from what I've been looking at,

Which,

Again,

You know,

Some of the studies that I've referenced here are Buzowski et al.

From 1992.

And that is an article that is.

.

.

Goes quite some time back that references high frequency network oscillation.

And what they found was that in this in this brainwave that's being emitted,

The circumstances under which they found it being emitted were awake immobility was one of them,

Which is fascinating in that I would immediately associate that with sort of a concerned state,

Possibly,

State,

Possibly,

If you're if you're not able to move,

And it's not of your own decision.

Additionally,

Consumatory behavior is also associated with the state,

Which I find fascinating.

And I believe they also find it,

Have found it in the study they published,

That they found this state in deep sleep,

Where there is an absence of theta brainwaves,

Which,

Again,

Is also very,

Very fascinating.

But hard to really come to any conclusions about it,

But certainly would warrant more research in that area.

So again,

To kind of wrap a lot of that up,

Waves occur all around us,

And waves are the medium through which energy travels,

And it can be felt in our experience.

It's a fascinating function that occurs all around us all the time,

And is so subtle,

I suppose,

That we don't,

We really don't even think about it.

More specifically,

The brainwave that we are emitting,

It does have an impact on the world around us.

It is sort of,

It is a part of the total energy that we are emitting.

There are other aspects to the energy that radiates from us as a person,

Or yourself as a person,

Or myself as a person.

Part of that,

Though,

Is the electromagnetic radiation that occurs as a result of activity from neural networks,

To include neural networks in the brain,

Of course,

But also neural networks in the heart and in the gut as well.

So there's,

It's,

It,

The human body truly is really just a series of interconnected systems.

But the same really could be said about the world around us.

And again,

These fundamental pieces being descriptive of that interconnectedness.

So with all that being said,

I'd like to invite you at this time to join me in this meditation.

And if you choose to,

To find a place and posture that is comfortable for you,

Whether it be lying down,

Or seated,

Or standing even,

Whatever works for you.

To start,

I'll invite you to take a couple of deep breaths with the intention of centering yourself and possibly even slowing,

Slowing down at this time.

If you feel comfortable closing your eyes,

I would encourage you to do so.

And if you'd prefer to simply lower your gaze,

You may do that as well.

And I'll invite you to do so at this time.

As we begin to center ourselves and observe our experience more as a whole.

And before we begin the visualization,

Visualization,

I'd like to describe a little bit of what you could expect in the visualization.

As I had mentioned,

Ocean waves are a beautiful and apparent representation of waves and waveforms.

If this is something that might possibly make you uncomfortable as a,

As a,

As a listener,

And a participant in the visualization,

Then I would encourage you to possibly take a moment and reflect on why that might be the case before proceeding with the rest of our meditation and visualization.

The ocean and the waves within an ocean body beautifully describe waves and waveforms in part because of the nature of water and how it flows.

There's a famous quote from Bruce Lee where he discusses the necessity to be empty and to flow like water.

In that sense,

It is as if we are the container through which energy travels in addition to the energy itself.

To begin our visualization,

I would like you to visualize and would invite you to visualize whatever is comfortable as a source of grounding in ocean water.

Some may feel very comfortable swimming.

Some may not feel so comfortable,

And that is also all right.

Whatever feels comfortable as a platform to navigate from,

I invite you to visualize yourself in the water.

In the water.

And by in the water,

I also mean on the water,

Where one's point of focus is from above the water line,

Which of course places you in the water.

I encourage you to visualize waves of water at the intensity that feels all right for you,

Whether they be smaller,

Subtle waves,

Or more powerful waves.

Visualize the waves approaching towards you.

Observe the peaks,

Observe the troughs,

The low points of the waves.

Notice how it snakes across your visual field.

The waves paradoxically appear as singular waves and simultaneously as a continuous chain of energy traveling through a body of water.

We can feel the energy beneath you or traveling through you.

The degree of intensity changes the experience.

One can become agitated in dire circumstances while feeling at ease and maybe even a sense of healing in calm circumstances.

I invite you to shift gears in this visualization.

I invite you to visualize yourself a little bit closer to a body of land.

As you approach this body of land,

Surrounded by a body of water,

You can see how the waves change and how the energy dissipates in the form of a crash of some sort onto land.

I invite you to again consider at this time if there's any discomfort associated with this visualization in these circumstances that you have been invited to visualize.

If there is discomfort,

I invite you to pause at this moment and reflect on that before proceeding.

I encourage you to visualize increasing intensity as you approach the shore.

And with that intensity,

I invite you to submerge below the waterline in order to buffer from this intensity as the water simply crashes into itself.

But the cascade of energy is felt.

You can feel yourself move in the direction that the wave has traveled in.

You can feel the trough of the wave pushing you forward closer to shore.

I invite you at this time to once again rise above the waterline and this time with the intention of moving with the water.

It may crash,

But your momentum continues moving with it.

Your energy is matching that of the waves.

It is matching the intensity,

The direction.

You and the wave are moving in tandem until you meet the shore.

I invite you at this time to,

In this visualization,

Reclaim the posture of the present moment.

Begin to observe the cycles of your breathing.

Observe the sounds of the present moment,

The light on the other side of your eyelids.

If there is any present,

The vibrations of the moment are present at any given moment.

They collect into the single moment that we experience.

I invite you to observe the cycles of the universe in this moment.

The sound that carries through space,

The light that meets our eyes.

I'll now invite you to direct your attention inwards to observe the energy you are carrying in this moment.

How does your energy carry through space?

I encourage you to simply observe your energy.

If it feels right for you to take a few deep breaths at this time,

I would encourage you to do so.

Whenever you feel ready,

Begin to bring your awareness back to the present moment more fully.

If it feels right to begin to add some movement back into your being,

Then please do so.

If you are ready to raise your gaze or open your eyes,

Then I'll invite you to do so at this time.

I would like to first thank you for joining me in that meditation,

Wherever that may be for you at that time and at this time for me.

I would like to close with a couple of questions for you as a listener,

Questions for yourself,

If you will.

And that is,

What was the experience in terms of how the visualization progressed?

How did events flow seamlessly?

And how did that flow and the process of events feel?

Life is very much a flow of experience.

We are spiritual beings within a human system and physical embodiment.

And so we can observe that system in motion.

And so what observations may you have had that are now becoming apparent as a result of the question being presented?

Again,

We are very much in an interconnected system.

I'd like to close with a quote from Jay-Z.

I imagine in the context it was music.

Quote,

You're thinking too much.

Just let it flow.

End quote.

It couldn't be more true for creativity.

And it's something we've lost in day to day life.

Thank you.

And I wish you well.