A different state of mind unlocks different superpowers. Sometimes we enter in altered states without knowing it. If we know more about those Altered States of mind, it will help us to increase our productivity by using those superpowers.
Before going to different states of mind, we should know about the conscious mind and the most powerful subconscious mind.
Before going to different states of mind, we should know about the conscious mind and the most powerful subconscious mind.
Conscious mind:
It is a thinking process that we are aware of. We can consciously be controlling it. Timothy Wilson, a professor of psychology at the University of Virginia, estimates that our brain receives eleven million “bits” of information in the form of sensory experiences (by our 5 senses) each second. But how many of these eleven million bits can our minds consciously process and focus on at once? Just forty of them. Not forty million or forty thousand, but forty. After focusing on something, we can hold only a small amount of information in our short-term memory. That is our conscious mind.Subconscious mind
It's the basic program of our mind, which has been written in our childhood when we are not aware of these. Let me give you an example of how does the subconscious mind works. Just think about an app. Many coders have written programming code for that app. This programming decides that what have to do when the user presses these buttons or links or one part of the screen. Then the program processes the information and gives an output. Here the programming code is your subconscious mind, you are the user and the conscious mind is the part of the program that the user knows (which is actually very little). Intuitions and gut feelings are the direct message from our subconscious. The subconscious mind is the gateway to different altered states.
Intuitions are not to be ignored, John. They represent data processed too fast for the conscious mind to comprehend.~Sherlock Holmes (BBC, TV series, season 4, episode 1)
All the different types of beliefs had been written in our subconscious while we are small. Sometimes these believe stop us to become great at sharing ideas. One such belief is 'what will other people think?' Most of the time we are driven by these beliefs. To reprogram our subconscious we have to go deeper into our states of mind. (brave wave frequencies decreases — what does that mean discussed later part)
Yogis who have practices Transcendental Meditation for years, they can get into this state through meditation.
The different States of Mind
Different states of mind are differentiated by brain wave frequencies. There are five different types of brain waves or states on the mind —Beta State:
Beta brain waves (12-30 Hz). It is the waking state of our mind. Most of our time in the day we spend on this state. In this state, our conscious mind is mainly active. In this state, we also get — stress, anxiety, sorrow, anger, restlessness, and all the different types of non-good feelings.Alpha state
Alpha brain waves (8-13 Hz). It is the state of mind when we focus on something. Sometimes we get into this state without knowing it. In this state, our brain slowly shuts off the other senses which are not necessary at that moment and increases the power of the rest of our senses. Take an example — when you are watching a TV show very carefully if then someone calls you from your side you even aren't able to hear them. You entered the beta state of mind at that time. You can consume more information in this state. This is the best state for learning something new or studying. This is the state where imagination, creativity boost up.How to Get into Alpha State:
- Best way to get into this to practice mediation.
- You can listen to alpha binary bits. Binary bits are actually a soundtrack that plays two different frequencies of sound in your two ears. Listening to this (with earphones or headphones) helps you get into the state easily.
- You can set a trigger for your brain to get into this state. The trigger is some consecutive set of actions that you need to do to enter a state. The trigger that I personally use is that counting my breaths from 10 to 1 then group together with my three fingers (thumb, index finger, and the middle finger) and say 'entering to alpha state'. It works for me. But if you do this for the first time it will not work. What you have to do — the same thing but you just have to start counting from 100 to 1 for 10 days. For the next 10 days, it will be 50 to 1 than for the next 10 days 20 to 1. After that, you can get into the state by just 10 to 1.
Best Things to Do in Alpha State:
- You can perform those works which need more focus, creativity, and imagination, just like working on a project, writing something new, or for study.
- You can do active recall in this state which will help you transfer short-term memories to long-term memories. It will help you in the study.
- You may relax a bit in this state. Just get into the state and notice what is happening around you. Just don't stick to a thing for more than 10-15 seconds.
Theta state
Theta brain waves (4-7.5 Hz). This is the altered state of our mind in light sleep or REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep. We see dreams in these states. In these states, we can't differentiate between which is real and which is created by our subconscious mind. That's why our dreams are so real. The experiences in our dreams are so real. In this state, our conscious mind shuts down and subconsciously takes its part. We can get into the theta state of mind by meditation. But it will take time and much practice in meditation. But if we can get into the state of being aware of ourselves, we can reprogram or believes. It also may be done by hypnosis.Delta state
Delta waves (0.5-4 Hz). This is the altered state of our mind when we are in deep sleep (dreamless sleep). In this step, self-healing takes place (that's why patients are advised to have proper sleep). Our subconscious mind is super active at this state.
Yogis who have practices Transcendental Meditation for years, they can get into this state through meditation.
Gamma state
Gamma waves (30-100 Hz). This the only altered state we do not get into in our sleep cycle.". . . a state of bare, transparent awareness; Effortless and brilliantly vivid, a state of relaxed, rootless wisdom; Fixation free and crystal clear, a state without the slightest reference point; Spacious empty clarity, a state wide-open and unconfined; the senses unfettered . . ."—a fourteenth-century Tibetan text (about gamma state)
This state is called the insight wave. In this state bursts of insights come in. It has a high level of information processing capability.
When scientists studied the brain waves of Yogis (who have an average of 27000 hours of meditation practice), they report that the massive levels of gamma waves in the yogi's brain and the synchrony of the gamma oscillations across whole regions of the brain suggest the vastness and panoramic quality of awareness. The yogis’ awareness in the present moment—without getting stuck in the anticipation of the future or ruminating on the past. The gamma waves are strongest during the practices of open presence and of compassion, the gamma continues while the mind is at rest, though to a lesser degree. Also, yogis’ brains seem to age more slowly compared to brains of other people their age. (For more information view this book 'Alter Traits' by Daniel Goleman & Richard J. Davidson)
These are the different states of mind. Although this is another state known as "FLOW STATE", where you feel your best and perform your best.
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