A Question about Entrainment for the Experts!

Bhavya · October 21st, 2008, 01:22

I'm wondering about the long term benefits of entrainment.

Does using LF tracks train the mind so that we'll eventually be able to enter deep states of meditation without needing to listen to LF entrainment music?
Theoretically, if new neural pathways are being formed by regularly using LF, the answer should be yes. I've been assuming that we would end up like the Buddhist monks who enter theta states easily after years of meditation and prayer. (Yippee!)

Have there been studies on this? Have any of you long term entrainment users discovered whether this is true or not?

Looking forward to your answers
Bhavya

pollyanna · October 21st, 2008, 15:51

Hi Bhavya, I have used all the LifeFlow tracks and although I still meditate with them out of choice (or maybe habit) yes, you are right. Through repetition, I understand that you will eventually be able to enter deeper states of meditation without LifeFlow.

I haven't really given it much thought until now - I guess you'll probably just know somehow. I have benefitted both emotionally and physically, letting go of many crippling and negative emotions. I live so much more consciously but I think I am only at the beginning of my spiritual journey. I am thoroughly enjoying every moment.

I think one of the great things I have realized is that whatever happens, I can always handle it now. In the grand scheme of things, most things that happen are quite insignificant anyway. Whoa, sorry, got a bit carried away there

I wish you much peace and joy on your journey

Bhavya · October 21st, 2008, 16:55

Thanks for getting carried away Pollyanna! Enthusiasm is a wonderful thing, especially related to spiritual pursuits!

It's hard for me to attribute progress on my path to one thing in particular, but I know that LF entrainment is helping me concentrate which is why I signed up to begin with. Without concentration, it's very difficult to have insight into the workings of the mind/body/spirit and it is surely that which brings all the benefits that we're looking for--just as you mentioned above.

Thanks for sharing your journey
In peace,

Bhavya

namah · October 21st, 2008, 18:49

I am into meditation by concentrating on Hindu mantras and repeating them. The journey is very slow and a lot of distractions. any advices please.

Edwin · October 22nd, 2008, 12:22

I shamelessly copied this from a website made to answer questions for readers of the book : " The Quiet " by Paul Wilson:

Seeing brainwaves with EEG

The brain is made up of billions of nerve cells called neurons.

To accomplish even the simplest human task, millions of these neurons have to interconnect through a network of branches called dendrites, then act in unison to create an electrical impulse.

The electrical impulse zaps down another branch (called an axon) and causes the release of a neurochemical which, in turn, activates other neurons. (Different types of neurochemicals stimulate different responses and behaviours: endorphins block pain; serotonin influences sleep, sexual impulse and mood.)

The process of learning something, or doing something repetitively, begins to establish "trails" known as neural pathways. The more you use these pathways, the more well-established they become, and the more "engrained" the practice or way of thinking becomes.

Imagine the neurons of the brain looking like a field of tall grass. Walk through it once, from point A to B, and you leave a narrow trail. If you only go that way once, it will be soon be overgrown and forgotten. But walk along it 1000 times and you begin to wear a track - this is how neural pathways, or "thought paths" become established. (Well-established neural pathways are the basis of habits. That is why undesirable habits are best overcome - not by trying to eliminate them, but by establishing newer, more desirable ones.)

The electrical impulses by which the brain's neurons communicate are commonly referred to as brainwaves. These can be easily measured with an electroencephalograph (EEG) - which, although you probably don't own one, is a common enough machine. Electrodes are taped to the outside of a person's head, leads from these are plugged into an EEG then, as the person performs various mental functions, the associated electrical changes in the brain are recorded on a monitor or graph.

Every mental state you experience, every thought or emotion you have, is accompanied by a unique set of electrical impulses in the brain. So, using EEG, you can monitor the mental activity of any person.

It's not just out of curiosity that we use technology such as this. If you can observe the characteristics of a mental state, you can reproduce them. Better still, if you can observe the characteristics of a mental state, you can reproduce them in ways that are often faster and more streamlined that the original. Using neuro-feedback processes, we've been able to teach people to reproduce deep meditative states using simple physiological or psychological techniques.

The neural pathways are enhanced by brain entrainment. The more you "walk the neural pathway" so to speak, the wider it gets, i.e. the more you meditate with brain entrainment, the faster your left and right hemisphere of the brain will be interlinked, making the creative right hemisphere connect to the analytical left hemisphere. This pathway will continue to exist for as long as you keep using it, it is the way the brain works. When you quit meditation, after some time other neural pathways will be built, and the one you are working on now will be broken down. The only thing that differs is that through normal meditation it takes years to build a road brick by brick, with brain entrainment, you find that it is allready building a highway right from the start.

Hope it helps

Hirinaki · October 22nd, 2008, 13:37

Thanks Edwin!!! It really helps to picture out the whole thing!

Love,

Hirinaki

bashmaki · October 22nd, 2008, 14:37

Originally Posted by Bhavya

It's hard for me to attribute progress on my path to one thing in particular . . . .

Bhavya

You said a mouthful here. I used to ponder this often. Anymore I just know that everything I do is part of the progression of the path I've chosen. Nothing is separate everything thing is united and becomes one in the moment.

gus

Edwin · October 22nd, 2008, 16:53

Originally Posted by bashmaki

You said a mouthful here. I used to ponder this often. Anymore I just know that everything I do is part of the progression of the path I've chosen. Nothing is separate everything thing is united and becomes one in the moment.

gus

An orange is made out of several pieces too

if you take out one piece, it is less whole, but still an orange.

Our progress is made out of our willingness to meditate, the hours put into it, LifeFlow, the insights we try to obtain through studies...

Take out one of them, you still meditate and will gain benefits from that.
I do think that the "whole orange" offers the most

bashmaki · October 22nd, 2008, 20:50

Originally Posted by Edwin

An orange is made out of several pieces too

if you take out one piece, it is less whole, but still an orange.

Our progress is made out of our willingness to meditate, the hours put into it, LifeFlow, the insights we try to obtain through studies...

Take out one of them, you still meditate and will gain benefits from that.
I do think that the "whole orange" offers the most

Now I want an orange

Bhavya · October 23rd, 2008, 05:48

Originally Posted by namah

I am into meditation by concentrating on Hindu mantras and repeating them. The journey is very slow and a lot of distractions. any advices please.

Hi Namah
Welcome. Here are some thoughts on your question above:

You could start to use Life Flow because these CDs will definitely help your concentration if you use them regularly. You could begin with the free demonstration. You'll benefit from listening to Michael's free meditation course as well.

You mentioned mantras in the plural. Why not stick to one? It's easier for the mind to concentrate that way.

In addition to using Lifeflow, you could spend 4-7 minutes just concentrating on the breath several times during the day and evening . (You can use one of several places to feel the breath - the upper lip, the heart area or the belly. You can experiment to see which one works best for you.)
By spending a shorter time concentrating, you're less likely to be distracted and you'll leave your meditation time feeling more positive and with an appetite for doing it again. You can do this even every hour if you like. This doesn't work using the Lifeflow music because it takes 8 minutes to entrain the mind. However, I've found that using this method adds to the positive effect that LifeFlow makes on the mind.

Good luck to you
Bhavya