Brainwave entrainment is one possible way to meditate. Thanks to modern technology, this method is fast rising in popularity. How does it work and how can you access this meditative technique yourself?

The Aim Of Meditation

No two people will have exactly the same rationale for doing meditation.

However, most would agree that the general goals of meditation are to achieve relaxation, a peaceful state of mind and to explore one's own consciousness. All these things are possible with brainwave entrainment.

How Brainwave Entrainment Works

Brainwave entrainment is the use of a stimulus (such as an audio recording) to encourage the brain to synchronize with it.

The brain emits different brainwaves of varying frequencies depending on its state e.g. relaxed, asleep, alert etc. Brainwave entrainment can be used to set brainwaves to a particular frequency and therefore effectively put the brain into a particular state. You can probably tell already that it can be used for many applications, including meditation.

Using Brainwave Entrainment To Meditate

In general, the lower the frequency of the brainwaves then the deeper the state of relaxation.

Brainwave entrainment can be used to force the brain into this lower frequency range whereupon theta and delta waves are emitted. These are associated with states of sleep, relaxation, dreaming and meditation. They are at the opposite ends of the scale compared to alpha and beta which are more commonly associated with creativity, action, problem solving and working.

Of course, one of the greatest advantages of using brainwave entrainment for the purposes of meditation is that many people find it easier to meditate this way. Although you still need to focus on the task at hand, some find it easier and can make quick progress that might otherwise take them years of unaided practice to achieve.

Do It Yourself

So what is the best way to get started?

The easiest and most effective method is to use brainwave entrainment audio, the most common form being known as "binaural beats". With this technique, you listen to audio via a set of headphones, each ear emitting almost the same frequency. The difference between the frequencies is interpreted by the brain which soon attempts to mimic it in the brain and help put you into the desired state of mind.

Such audios are cheap and highly effective and it is usually possible to pick and choose your audio files depending on which states you want to achieve e.g. deep trance, relaxation, sleep etc.