Combining PMP Meditations with Unassisted Meditations

Q: In the ILP literature, Ken Wilbur does endorse the use of "auditory meditation aids" such as this, but also emphasizes the need for an onging meditation practice without such aids. With only so much time in a day to meditate, since I am a householder and not a monk, what is your perspective? My sense is that over time, I will need the PMP programm less and less and be able to organically evolve to deeper meditation states "spontaneously" as desired. Or should I simply schedule a 50:50 time split between PMP meditation and non-PMP meditation?

A: There are a number of ways you can combine PMP meditations with unassisted meditations. One would be to use PMP/iAwake releases in the mornings, and meditate without assistance in the evenings. Another would be to meditate with PMP for 20 minutes, followed by 40 minutes of unaided meditation. In both cases the unaided meditations should be deeper and more coherent than otherwise, because the preceding PMP meditations are literally priming the brain and nervous system for greater coherence, which in turn should produce noticeable results even when meditating unaided afterward.

I would like to point out, however, that iAwake technology goes much further than just relying on audio entrainment, as most other brainwave meditation programs do. Indeed, iAwake's powerful biodield entrainment technology produces very effective and silent torsion fields that entrain not only the brain but the entire subtle energetic system as well. The effect really is identical to what you experience at an exceptionally good meditation retreat: the combined and amplified biofields of all the meditators generate a tangible "field effect" that deepens the meditative state of each individual significantly. iAwake's biofield technology brings this powerful "field effect" right to your home, so you can enjoy that very natural and powerful energetic push from which all retreat attendees and monastery groups benefit. This biofield technology uses precisely the same very natural energies you would encounter in such retreats: the energies of the higher chakras as well as the very energies found and measured in places associated with profound monastic practices (inspired by and drawn from the emerging science of BioGeometry, which is a significant develop in the scientific study and practical use of subtle energies for spiritual well-being).

Furthermore, depending on your sensitivity to these energies, most of the iAwake biofield formulations can be experienced simply by playing the tracks silently on your mp3 player, Smartphone or media player. This means you can use this technology silently to assist your otherwise unaided meditations, just as if you were benefiting from the combined subtle field effects from all the meditators in one room. This way, you get all the advantages of that subtle energetic dynamic without the limitations and distractions that come with audio assistance.

The beauty of this is that you can also amplify iAwake's biofield transmission to virtually any amplitude you need in order to feel that very organic but helpful push, regardless of your degree of sensitivity (using multiple players; please see: How to Amplify the Biofield Transmission of any iAwake Producthttp://www.profoundmeditationprogram.com/iawake-biofield-amplify). Again, as one who comes from the shaktipat and Siddha traditions, I find that this biofield use is truly organic and in no way interferes with my inner meditation practice.

In fact, it has deepened and strengthened my inner practice in every conceivable way. I often meditate with this biofield technology silently, with no audio assistance, and the results have been splendid. My meditations are consistently deeper than ever, with varying levels of samadhi being quite normal. In addition, I can carry these energies with me throughout the day, by using various playing devices silently, and it is almost like being in the presence of a spiritual master: I feel deeply and spiritually supported, more easily able to remain conscious, mindful and compassionate throughout the day.

My Apologies

Dear iAwake Blog Subscribers,

It recently came to my attention that the iAwake Blog was apparently hacked for a period of about 24 hours,  in which time an unknown Internet marketer made two posts advertising a scheme for making quick money. Since you've more than likely kept up with our posts here, you'll know that such posts are absolutely unwelcome. We've changed our password, which will hopefully preclude any such posts in the future.

Although we haven't received any complaints from anyone, we'd like to make very clear the real nature of this incident to avoid any misunderstandings. Please accept our sincere apologies for any confusion this may have caused.

Sincerely,

Eric Thompson & the iAwake Team

A Common Misconception About Carrier Frequency in Binaural Brainwave Entrainment

Because the lowering of carrier frequency—or pitch—is capable of providing more of a sense of “fullness” and “drive” to a binaural brainwave entrainment stimulus, it is often mistakenly assumed that such lowering of carrier frequency actually increases the ability of the entrainment stimulus to attract neural activity into its train of influence. This is not so.

Scientific research has shown that people tend to entrain better to higher carrier frequencies then lower ones. Simply stated, lower carrier frequencies are generally less capable of entraining brainwave activity than higher ones, unless the brain is trained to do so through consistent daily practice. (More on this in a little bit.) This is due to the fact that overall sound energy (i.e., its number, or frequency, of oscillations) decreases with the lowering of pitch.

What carrier pitch loses in overall energy when decreased, however, it gains in capacity to resonate physical matter—including the brain—more forcefully. For anyone who has played in a band, this statement is self-evident. Even if you sound-proof a band rehearsal room fairly well, neighbors and friends can still complain about the bass guitar and drums traveling through the sound insulation and walls.

Lower pitches (like drums and bass guitar) are able to travel through walls in this manner because they are better able to resonate physical matter at its resonant frequency, the rate of vibration at which it will tend to pulsate with greatest amplitude. It is this increased resonance effect that enhances the "driving," "innervating" effect of lower carrier frequencies  on the brain when used with effective brainwave entrainment.

The Good News: Through daily use, the research indicates that most individuals’ brains can be trained to entrain to lower—and therefore more resonantly powerful—carrier frequencies.

For more answers to your questions on this subject, stay tuned for the next article: Carrier Wave Therapy in Brainwave Entrainment.

Consumerism and the Brain

A short presentation on the proposed neural correlates of consumerism. Because this presentation was originally offered as a live talk, much of the pertinent information was spoken in person and therefore not included in print form in the PowerPoint. As such, the visual presentation, when viewed by itself, may seem to be lacking in information.

Keys to Meditation Part 1 – Letting Go

Have you ever noticed how the mind wants to focus on solving problems during meditation? It can seem daunting to quiet its incessant chatter. The objective of meditation is to connect with our spirit, the part of our nature that transcends and includes the busy mind. The key to meditating effectively is to remember that there’s really no “I” that’s trying to meditate. Rather, meditation is our true nature: meditation simply reminds our mind—through radical experience—that our true nature is much bigger and more unrestricted than it.

Taking Off the “Me” Suit

At the beginning of your meditation, it is helpful to hold the intention that you will let go of your “me” for this time and connect with your spirit. You might imagine that your “me” is like a suit with a zipper down the front. Simply unzip and remove your “me” and place it gently in a corner of the room. You can always come back and get it later, but you won’t need it now.

The essence of meditation is pure “yin,” untainted receptivity. Rather than trying to meditate, simply allow yourself to be meditated. Feel the life force in your body, the spirit beating your heart, the chi coursing through your meridian system, the electromagnetic fields surrounding your body.

Something beyond your mind is animating your mind and body. What is it? Something is pulling you toward itself, to develop yourself, to fulfill your deepest potential, to realize your Self. Put your attention on that.

Feel free to let your busy “me” mind do as it wishes, because it isn’t you. No need to struggle with it. Just allow your attention to come back to the mysterious subtle force that animates your mind and body. What is it? From where does it originate?

Now observe the feeling, and observe yourself observing the feeling. What is aware of being aware? Does this awareness require any effort?

If you notice any effort, simply let it go. Have you noticed something?

 The more you let go, the deeper is your meditation.

This is because your conditioned mind is now experiencing—literally entraining to—your true nature as spirit.

Letting Go of Everything

Many wonderful thoughts and creative ideas can emerge during meditation. It can even seem advantageous to hold on to such thoughts; after all, they’re good, aren’t they?

A key to remember is that the chattering mind is strengthened by holding on to thoughts in a clinging manner. The spirit, on the other hand, brings more love, light and wisdom into the world when the mind is able to let go.

Yes, this seems counterintuitive, but I’ve found it to be true. The more I let go of the creative ideas that come to me and release them into the infinite potential of Spirit, the more they grow and actually see the light of day.

During your next meditation, try one or more of the following approaches to letting go:

• Any time you notice that you are focusing on your mental chatter, simply let go of the chatter and become aware of non-thought. Now allow yourself to become aware of your awareness.
• Imagine letting go of everything you’ve ever wanted. Just imagine it. How does it feel? This is your true nature. Your spirit is in need of nothing. Now observe the feeling, and observe yourself observing the feeling. Anchor both the feeling and the awareness in your body, and hold the intention to carry this awareness with you throughout the day.
• Whenever creative ideas emerge in your mind during meditation, thank Spirit for those beautiful ideas and imagine planting them into the fertile soil of Spirit by letting them go in gratitude. No need to worry; now that these spontaneous ideas have been entrusted back to your spirit, it will nurture them and bring them back into your awareness at the most opportune time. Simply agree to write them down as soon as your meditation is over. If you don’t remember all of them immediately afterward, no worries. Your spirit is a better steward than your mind. Trust me; they’ll come back.

This practice accomplishes at least three things:

1. It reminds your mind that it isn’t the seat of your identity or your ability to create, that connecting with and expressing your spirit is your highest priority and joy.
2. It teaches your mind just how trustworthy and dependable your spirit really is when it comes to bringing more creativity and life into your experience.
3. It makes life easier.

Space and the Art of Letting Go

In the moment just before the Zen archer releases the arrow to strike the bull’s-eye, all inner static vanishes with the emergence of effortless clarity. Before any action has begun, the martial arts master stands poised in infinite silence, completely centered and ready for anything.

Scientific research reveals an interesting neurological phenomenon correlated with inner stillness and grace. In every case in which this experience has been studied neuroscientifically, phase synchronous alpha brainwaves have been observed in the left hemisphere. 1

More of our innate potential is liberated whenever we experience such flow-states, because the energy normally required to maintain inefficient uses of attention is available to flow unobstructed. The question, however, is: How do we experience this Flow more often, at will? 

The answer discovered by Dr. Les Fehmi, an innovator in the field of neurofeedback, is both deceptively simple and unquestionably effective: by imagining space. When inviting his clients to envision, say, the   space between their ears, the same phase synchronous alpha brainwaves found in the previously mentioned studies appeared his clients’ EEG readings. 2

Simply becoming aware of spaciousness—even imagining it—evokes the natural state of effortless, open attention and repose in the present moment. Experience it for yourself right now:

Allow yourself to imagine the space between you and the screen in front of you.

Become aware of the space being occupied by your left arm.

Could you allow yourself to imagine the space within your heart?

Could you imagine the space permeating your body?

As you sit quietly, could you allow yourself to be weightless?

Could you imagine the space within your spinal column?

Could you imagine your body as pure light and disappear into it?

You may have noticed from this simple practice that you feel lighter and more open and relaxed. This spacious awareness has been producing brainwave patterns similar to those found in elite athletes while performing in exceptional flow-states.

Whereas our habitual attention tends to contract in its primary focus upon objects, the art of letting go in the moment fosters gentle, expanded awareness of the space around us and within us. It’s as simple as releasing our attention from its ingrained attachment to “things” and opening up to peripheral vision and the experience of space.

Adopt any of the following approaches to integrate more of this awareness into your daily experience:

In meditation, allow yourself to become aware of non-thought.

When thoughts arise, become aware of the space between you and the thought.

Allow yourself to become aware of the space that permeates the thought.

As feelings arise, dive into the infinite space that pervades them.

Allow your awareness to attend to the silence in which all sounds, thoughts and feelings arise.

Allow your attention to fall on the space between the objects around you.

Imagine all people and objects as being saturated with space.

The more aware you become of space and openness, the more relaxed and present you will be, the more you will entrain to the natural flow of Tao.

1 Hemispheric Asymmetry, Cardiac Response, and Performance in Elite Archers. Landers, D, et al. 1990. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport. 61(4)351-59.See also Pre-Shot EEG Alpha-Power Reactivity during Expert Air-Pistol Shooting: A Comparison of Best and Worst Shots. Loze, GM, Collins, D, & Holmes, PS. 2001. Journal of Sports Sciences. 19(9)727-33.

2 Les Fehmi, PhD, and Jim Robbins. (2007.) The Open-Focus Brain: Harnessing the Power of Attention to Heal Mind and Body. Trumpeter Books.

Click Here to receive a free 20-min Profound Meditation download to experience deeper, more transformative meditation today. You also receive a free 6-week PDF course on the Neuroscience of Meditation.

The Deeper Meaning of Entrainment

The Tao never does anything,
yet through it all things are done.

If powerful men and women
could center themselves in it,
the whole world would be transformed
by itself, in its natural rhythms.

~ Lao Tzu

If you “Google” the term “entrainment,” you’ll find dozens of responses, many of them pertaining to brainwave entrainment, which has become increasingly popular in the last two decades. While http://www.thefreedictionary.com/ defines entrainment as “To pull or draw along after itself,”  the field of biomusicology refers to it as “the synchronization of organisms to an external rhythm.” ^[i] 

In essence, entrainment refers to a natural phenomenon in which one entity resonates synchronously with another in response to its dominant frequency of vibration. And whether this resonance occurs on a gross or subtle level, it invariably involves rhythm.

We tend to associate rhythm and entrainment with music and sound, ignoring just how pervasive they are in the world around us and within us. Indeed, the human heart’s rhythms play a vital role in producing waves of blood, sound and electromagnetism, all of which either entrain or influence every cell in the body to varying degrees. ^[ii]  Researchers at the University of Arizona have discovered evidence that the heart’s energetic field exerts an entrainment effect upon the brain. They also showed that heart-focused attention increased this heart-brain entrainment. ^[iii]

Entraining to the Heart of Compassion

The world’s spiritual traditions implore us to allow our hearts and conditioned minds to be entrained to the heart of compassion, the indwelling Spirit that beats the heart and animates all things. And when learning from a genuine spiritual master,  the object is not to understand the words she speaks, but rather to entrain to her silent presence, the radiant field of light and wisdom that activates the student’s capacity to awaken (as long as the student is open and ready, that is).

Entraining the Conditioned Mind to the SatGuru Within

Shivabalayogi

A powerful example of this subtle type of entrainment was seen in Shivabalayogi, the self-realized yogi whose main teaching was transmitted not by words but by the powerful field of shakti he emitted. Before transmitting his silent teaching, however, he spent 23 hours a day in samadhi (i.e., meditative absorption) for eight years, and again 12 hours a day for another four years. Spiritual aspirants would spontaneously enter into varying degrees of samadhi simply by being in his physical presence, even as far as a block away. The deciding factor, however, was the student’s readiness and openness to entrain to his transmission.

Shivabalayogi was not transmitting anything not already present within the devotee, however. His mind had simply become so entrained to the SatGuru within us all, that very little in him obscured the natural radiance of our true nature.

Entraining to the Spirit

When the Buddha is pictured as sitting upon a lotus flower, this represents his having transcended the trammels of the mind and senses. The lotus symbolizes the opening of the Crown (pictured in Vedic tradition as a thousand-petaled lotus), and the Buddha's position over it represents the complete and utter entrainment of his conditioned mind to his true nature. This is preceded, however, by an awakening to the truth that our finite mind and identity are not who we really are.

As the awakening deepens, the student begins to entrain to the natural rhythms of the Tao, fulfilling more of his deepest potential with less effort and less of a sense of “self”. Meditation, heart-centered mindfulness and moment-by-moment surrender allow the conditioned mind to become more deeply entrained to the indwelling Spirit, allowing more of it to shine forth.

The following statement, a paraphrase of the Tao te Ching quote mentioned above, affirms the deeper meaning of entrainment by stating:

If you and I would allow our body-mind

to entrain to the natural flow of the Tao,

our true nature would innocently radiate forth

and transform the world simply by virtue of being itself.

^[i] Entrainment (biomusicology). Wikipedia.org.

^[ii] The Energetic Heart: Bioelectromagnetic Interactions Within and Between People. McCraty, R. Retrieved from http://www.ssporer.com/downloads/Energetic_Heart.pdf. 2003.

^[iii] Heart-focused attention and heart-brain synchronization: Energetic and physiological mechanisms. Song, L, Schwartz, G, Russek, L. Altern Ther Health Med.  1998. (4)44-62.

To Learn More

1. Click Here to receive a free 20-min Profound Meditation download to experience deeper, more transformative meditation today. You also receive a free 6-week PDF course on the Neuroscience of Meditation.
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