Many people are discovering the benefits of using theta brainwave meditation to improve their daily lives. Theta brainwaves are produced when you're in a deeply relaxed state, and are linked with increased creativity, greater access to the subconscious mind, and even altered states of consciousness such as lucid dreaming and out of body experience.

While experienced meditators can enter a trance state and produce theta brainwaves that will, it normally takes many months or even years of practice to get this point. Fortunately for the rest of us, listening to a theta brain wave CD or other recording can help us to access the theta brain state much more quickly and easily. This is thanks to the phenomena known as brainwave entrainment, which simply means that when your brain is exposed to sounds which correspond to the frequency of theta brainwaves (4 – 8 Hz), it will begin to produce brainwaves of a similar frequency.

So, using a theta brainwave CD can really help you to access this state more easily, and reap the benefits that it provides. However, there's a huge variety of theta brain wave CDs on the market, and it can be difficult to know which one to choose. Here are some things to consider when buying a theta meditation recording.

1. Which Type Of Brainwave Entrainment Does It Use?

Firstly, you need to decide which type of brainwave entrainment technology you're looking for. Sound-based brainwave synchronisation basically falls into three categories: binaural beats, monaural beats and isochronic tones.

Binaural beats are the most established and most well-known technology, and you'll find that most of the theta brainwave CDs that are available incorporate binaural beats. However, many people find that monaural beats and isochronic tones are somewhat more effective than binaural beats. The downside is that these technologies are not as widely available.

All three types do work well, but if you're feeling adventurous, you might want to experiment to see which works best for you.

2. Music Or Not?

You'll also find that many theta brainwave recordings are enhanced with music. This music is typically very relaxing and calming in nature, and is designed to make your meditation session more effective.

However, the use of music on meditation recordings can be counter-productive to some people. The reason is that no matter how pleasant the music is, it can become annoying if you're listening to the same recording repeatedly (and it’s advisable to stick with the same recording until you're getting the results you’re looking for).

For this reason, you might want to look for a theta meditation CD that doesn’t include melodic music, but is instead enhanced with ambient sounds, pink noise or nature sounds such as bubbling water. These have a similarly relaxing effect, but lack the potential irritation factor of repetitive music.

3. Length

The third consideration is the length of your theta meditation CD. Many meditation recordings are at least 20 minutes in length, and often longer, such as those which last up to an hour. The length of the recording you need will depend on the time you have available, and also your level of experience; typically, new meditators do better with a shorter recording of 10-20 minutes to begin with.

Some CDs contain more than one track, sometimes of different lengths, so these are worth looking out for, as they allow you to be more flexible with your meditation practice.