Well, like I said – I was going to post each day about my experiences dealing with the 10 Hz alpha brain waves that I have been listening to: 20 minutes in the morning and 20 minutes at night before I go to bed.  Thus, far my results have been fairly interesting – though it is only Day #2 of the Series.  I have done a grand total of three sessions thus far – two yesterday and one this morning.  Read below and find out what I experienced in Day #2 of this experiment in comparison to Day #1 (yesterday).

What I experienced today (Day #2)?

1.) Deeper physical relaxation…Again

Though I didn’t feel as deeply relaxed as last time, I did feel more physical relaxation after session number two than the first session.  My body is “mellow” and my arms & legs feel much looser.  Though I wasn’t aware of feeling as relaxed as before, the 10 Hz session this morning definitely helped.  Last night before I went to bed, I listened to the session and had a deeper relaxation effect than I did this morning (but that could be due to the fact that I was pretty tired before taking a listen) – though I did manage to easily stay awake the entire time.

2.) Deeper mental relaxation… Different state of awareness.

Like the effects resulting from yesterday’s session, I also feel more mentally relaxed than before.  I feel slightly spaced out, but much more focused than I did on Day #1 of the experiment.  My brain has definitely slowed down some and I do notice an affect on my consciousness (state of awareness).  My thoughts are not nearly as “deep” as they were before and I feel like I am more part of this exact moment in time – as I don’t have thoughts rushing about the future or past.  I also feel extremely refreshed – just as refreshed as yesterday, which is definitely a pleasant feeling.

3.) More Internal / CORE energy

After my 20 minute alpha session today I noticed that I felt like I had more energy coming from the CORE of my stomach area.  And, unlike yesterday, I do not feel quite as “emotional.” I am not feeling “very powerful” emotions, but I can tell that my emotions are there.  I am also more aware of this “internal energy” stemming from the center of my body between my stomach area and chest.

I do not feel “negative” or “depressing” emotions like I felt yesterday… In fact I feel extremely chilled out and relaxed.  This session has slowed down my brain significantly from the high-beta brain waves range that I was in before.  It feels to me like I’m in a state of awareness that’s a safe place to be: not too much mental activity, not too powerful of emotions.  It feels good and I feel “content.”

4.) Less Irritability & More Desensitized

After the session ended yesterday, I wrote about experiencing “irritability.”  Both yesterday and today I got plenty of sleep and didn’t make any major changes in my routine throughout my day – continuing to exercise and go about other activities as I normally would. Unlike yesterday, hearing the dog bark and other noises coming from outside did not seem to phase me.  I felt pretty mellow and “desensitized” to the barking.  Nothing minor is upsetting or rev’s me up in the slightest.  This makes me think that yesterday was just some sort of weird transition that I was experiencing.

5.) Slower mental speed / processing

Though I feel that I am not as able to “think quick” during conversations or be as “witty” as I was before, it doesn’t really bother me.  I know that if I ever want to think quick on my feet and perform at my peak for conversations that I can do some beta entrainment or beta neurofeedback to help shift my awareness.  The alpha brain wave range is obviously slower than the beta-range – but not as slow as the theta range – which explains my feeling of a calm state that’s “neither dominated by thoughts or emotions.”

As quoted from yesterday, “Tasks like writing, reading, organizing thoughts, and conversation are usually easier for people already in the beta-brain wave range.” With that said, I am feeling different than yesterday, I can type fairly easily with a good level of concentration.  I haven’t had to “go back and edit” my work nearly as much as yesterday.  But, there still could be some grammatical mistakes….haha *Apologies if there are.

6.) Continued Internal Awareness…

Though I do find myself more apt to focusing on external things than yesterday, my internal awareness has increased tremendously.  I feel much more self aware.  This morning I ate a fairly late breakfast and noticed that before eating breakfast I had a strong urge to get food in my body.  My stomach was literally screaming at me to feed it.  Normally if I eat later, I am not aware of my stomach begging for food.

Here’s what I noticed yesterday about “feeling more full”:

I normally don’t think much about “being full” after eating breakfast, but I found myself aware that I felt full inside after eating and doing my first session.  I also mentioned a much more powerful ability to be aware of my emotions – which I also classify as internal awareness.

I am also more physically aware of what’s happening inside my body.  Though I feel less aware of my thoughts, I am more aware of my entire body.  I am noticing slight internal cues form my body that I normally do not pick up on.  I will continue to let everyone know how I am effected by this 10Hz alpha entrainment as I begin to experiment tonight and tomorrow morning.  Day #2′s journal is done.  Feel free to click the link below and compare my experience from Day #1.

PREVIOUSLY: Day #1: 10 Hz Alpha Brain Waves Entrainment Experiment

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I posted yesterday letting everyone know that I’ve decided to kick off a 7-Day Series of brain wave entrainment – hoping to get a new experience (in comparison to my old trial)… This series will feature me writing my experience on this blog for each of the seven days in a journal-like format…  I will be writing after my morning entrainment session for everybody to follow.  It’s been about 5 minutes since finishing my 10 Hz (customized) Alpha Brain Waves session with Neuro-Programmer 2 Professional software – so let’s hear how the session affected me on Day #1 after twenty minutes of 10 hz alpha entrainment.

What I experienced today (Day #1)?

1.) Deeper physical relaxation

The very first thing that I noticed after my first session ended was that I felt more physically relaxed than normally.  I could tell that the session had a very noticeable effect at making my entire body more mellow.  My arms feel relaxed, my legs feel relaxed – and the biggest effect that the session had on me was in the stomach area.  Right in the middle of my chest / stomach, I feel the deepest sense of relaxation that I have in a long time.

2.) Deeper mental relaxation

In addition to my physical body relaxing more, my brain felt much more relaxed as well.  I believe that slowing down the brain is a good thing in certain cases, but too much of it would severely hinder performance at doing things like complex math problems and understanding abstract concepts or theories.

Though my brain is slowed down, it feels pleasant.  It feels like I don’t need to worry about what I’m thinking… My brain seems to think for itself and wander on its own.  I do still feel some control over what I’m thinking, but it’s not nearly as strong of conscious control as I normally do.  With that said, the deeper mental relaxation felt highly refreshing, even though I did my session in the morning (within 2 hours of waking – after eating breakfast).

3.) More emotional / emotionally aware

After just one 20 minute alpha session, I noticed that I felt more emotional, especially from the place in my body that felt the deepest sense of relaxation – the middle of my stomach.  I have not felt very powerful emotions for a long time, but I do know that strong emotions are linked to the slower brain wave states like theta and alpha.  It’s not that people in the beta range aren’t likely to experience emotions, it’s just that they will not be as powerful as they would in a primarily alpha or theta state of mind.

Another thing that’s interesting is the fact that I’m much more aware of having these strong emotions after my session.  I usually do not even “think” much about my emotions – and actually do not usually feel much of any emotion this strong at all… Though the emotions I’m experiencing seem to be what I would label as “negative” & “depressing” – it was likely due to my brain’s brain waves coming into this session.  People in a high-beta brain waves state would likely not experience what I have experienced – because I was likely in a normal (low-mid) beta state coming into this session.

4.) Slight irritability

After the session ended, I heard the snow plow plowing the road right outside and noticed myself getting upset and angry at the plow for making noise while I’m trying to type this blog entry.  Something like “noise” from a snow plow would normally not bother me.  The reason I’m putting down “slight irritability” as a side-effect of my experience is because I am not what I would call “irritable.”  I still have conscious control over the expression of my emotions, but minor things seem to piss me off…

Another experience I had was with my dog barking.  I normally do not get emotionally revved up when I hear my dog bark, but after doing Day #1 of the 10 Hz Alpha Brainwave session, I found myself getting upset at him barking because it was throwing off my ability to concentrate on writing this blog entry.

5.) Slower mental speed / processing

I definitely noticed that I am not able to think as quickly as before – which makes perfect sense… Think about it, if my brain was in the beta-range (like most normal individuals other than children), I would have quicker mental speed, and be more aware of my physical environment.  It makes perfect sense for me to be experiencing mental slowness compared to what I was experiencing before (likely in the beta-range).

Tasks like writing, reading, organizing thoughts, and conversation are usually easier for people already in the beta-brain wave range.  Right now it seems pretty difficult for me (compared to before) to type a blog entry that makes sense.  I’ve had to go back and edit my sentences much more often than I normally do.

6.) More internal awareness

Instead of focusing on external things (i.e. people, objects, activity) in my environment (like I normally do), I found myself being more aware of what’s going on inside my body.  I normally don’t think much about “being full” after eating breakfast, but I found myself aware that I felt full inside after eating and doing my first session.  I also mentioned a much more powerful ability to be aware of my emotions – which I also classify as internal awareness.

I do not know whether the brain waves changed my body and mind in a way that makes me more emotional OR whether alpha brain wave entrainment just made me more aware of my inner emotions…  OR if it was a combination of the alpha brain waves’ affecting my body and mind in addition to shifting my awareness (more internal) that made the change.  I look forward to continuing the experiment tonight / tomorrow morning.  I will hopefully be as thorough as this entry here.

PREVIOUSLY: Alpha Brain Waves “10Hz” Experiment Information

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Ever wonder why some people are able to be hyper-productive each morning? It’s because their brains are ready for the day at an early time, they get their “neurons firing” and brain working. Fortunately, there are many great exercises that you can use to help get yourself moving each morning. This will help increase your brain activity and get your ready for the day ahead. Learning to create positive, healthy habits each morning is a great way to improve the overall health of your brain. Read below and you will find plenty of great activities that you can use each morning before work or school to help you kick your brain into gear!

Try Taking a Cool Shower. I know what you are thinking: “taking a cold shower is ridiculous.” And I agree, taking a cold shower is ridiculous. With that said, it does a great job at getting us motivated and it definitely “wakes up” our brains. If you’ve never tried to take a shower in the morning, try it sometime and see how you feel. I usually never intentionally take a cold shower, but ended up taking plenty in my lifetime.

The washing machine would be running and suck up the warm water in the winter and I’d get a nice dose of cold water in the morning. Sure it doesn’t feel very pleasant, but it definitely does the job. Each time a cold shower ends, I feel alert, energetic, and ready to have a productive morning. If you don’t like taking cold showers, feel free to compromise by taking a “cool shower.” – It will likely do the job too!

Listen to Some Energetic Music. For those who really want to wake up feeling charged, create a CD or playlist that is motivating, inspiring, or that has a quick tempo. Fast-paced music forces people to want to start moving. Maybe you’d like to start your day by playing an upbeat mix of tunes and dancing to them! You’d get a little workout, plus you’d feel pumped up and ready to take on the world after you were done. Who knows, maybe you’d even feel like taking a *cold shower! Haha.

Get Plenty of Sleep. It can be very difficult to have a great morning every day if you aren’t getting adequate sleep the night before! Each person needs a different amount of sleep: some individuals are able to run on 5 hours effectively, while others need over 8 hours. Either way, be sure you are meeting your individual sleep requirements. Getting plenty of sleep the night before allows you to wake up easier in the morning, and truly take advantage of your mornings. I have done plenty of sleep research and it seems that “going to sleep when you are tired” + “waking up at the same time each morning” is the optimal sleep strategy.

Have Fruit Juice with Breakfast. Whether you are a fan of either coffee or green tea, fruit juice is yet another alternative. Having a hearty glass of Orange Juice, Apple Juice, Grape Juice, Pineapple Juice, etc. will be a great way to start up your brain in the morning. All of these juices contain healthy amounts of sugars, nutrients, and vitamins that will lace your brain cells with plenty of energy that they will be able to utilize throughout almost the entire day to communicate with one another. My personal favorite is to drink a big glass of Orange Juice, but all types of fruit juice are extremely healthy. Each will ensure a high-performance brain state in the morning.

Set an Alarm Clock. Most people set alarm clocks in order to wake up in time for their work shift or school classes. Whether they know it or not, setting an alarm clock is suggested to ensure a productive, mentally stimulating morning. We know it is optimal to “go to bed when you are tired” and to “wake up at the same time each day.”

In attempt to wake up at the same time each day, it can be difficult to do without an alarm clock. I intentionally set my alarm clock away from my bed because it forces me to make my tired butt “get up.” Once I wake up and walk over to my alarm clock, I feel tired, but I am able to stay awake and boost up my brain each morning!

Many people believe that it is good to literally “jump out of bed” as if someone dumped ice water on your face. While that method is a great way to get your brain amped for the day, another way is to massage your body. Massage your face, arms, legs, and slowly work your way up. I prefer the quick “jack-in-the-box” method, but either way works! There is nothing wrong with sleeping in, other than you will miss out on taking advantage of [your brain and] the morning.

Wake up to the Smell of Freshly Brewed Coffee. Waking up to the smell of coffee is easy to accomplish if you enjoy drinking coffee. There is even some research that suggests just from the aroma of coffee, brain activity will increase along with your physical energy level. It is important to remember, though, that you should strive to drink coffee in “moderation.” Too much coffee and your brain waves will shift to a rapid pattern (high-beta). This will likely leave you stressed out and anxious. Too little coffee and you won’t reap the brain boosting effects. I personally don’t drink coffee in the morning, but scientific data suggests that coffee in moderation can actually be a great way to boost electrical activity in your brain in the morning!

Consider Drinking Green Tea. If you aren’t the type of person who likes to drink coffee, you may want to consider drinking some tea instead! Green Tea and other teas have been proven to be great for your brain. They boost activity and provide you with healthy nutrients that will stay in your body throughout the entire morning. I have found Green Tea to be very calming. It soothes and relaxes my body, yet it seems to get my brain ready for the day! It tastes great, smells great, and is great to drink in the morning before eating breakfast.

Turn on the Lights, Get a Dose of Sunshine. It makes it increasingly difficult to fully wake up or stay awake when you feel as if you are in a dark cave! Turn on some bright lights in the morning and let light shine in through your windows. A good habit to get into is opening up the blinds on your windows! Light is great for boosting brain power and activity. Natural sunlight is the best, but lightboxes are a great way to get started too! People with S.A.D. (Seasonal Affective Disorder) – get depressed in the winter due to lack of natural sunlight.

This suggests that sunlight has a direct effect on the activity in our brains. When we deprive our brains of light, we will stay in a groggy, sleeplike state of consciousness – that is, until we feed our brain some sunlight! Bright light clears the fog from this slower [theta] brain wave state and shifts our brain wave activity to [beta] higher frequencies. These higher frequencies promote a happy, active brain / state of mind. Sunlight also triggers the release of certain neurotransmitters like serotonin and dopamine – both of which are great for brain health. Any form of powerful light in the morning is great for promoting a healthy circadian rhythm and amping up your overall brain power.

Get Some Fresh Air in the House. Open up some windows in the morning! Sure it may feel a little bit chilly, but you can bet that it will make you want to wake up. Fresh air flowing through the house feels very soothing and revitalizing in the morning. Hearing the birds chirp, wind blow, and other sounds of nature is a great way to experience morning. Try it sometime and see how you like it. Obviously, though, on hot days or super cold days, you’d be a fool not to use the air conditioner or heater.

Utilize the Power of Your Brain Waves. Many people aren’t yet aware of the great brainwave entrainment software that is on the market or what it can do for them. Let’s just say it is a phenomenal way to get your morning started. You can program your brain to produce relaxed, yet alert brain wave patterns.

You can also get a jolt similar to what you get from coffee in the morning, but without the “burnout effect.” Entraining your brain waves is a phenomenal way to amp up your brain power each morning. Any session in the mid-beta to high-beta brain wave range will do a great job at getting you mentally prepared for the day. You will likely feel a huge energy boost after listening! Be sure to check out my recommended products section for the best brainwave entrainment products on the market. I personally use Neuro-Programmer 2 Professional and Mind Stereo and they can turn my morning into a miracle.

Eat a Hearty Breakfast. Eating a healthy, hearty breakfast is one of the single most powerful ways to prepare both your body and brain for the rest of the day. Researchers have always made emphasis on breakfast being the most important meal of the day. Why? Because it is the first time you’ve eaten anything for a long period of time. Breakfast gives your brain vital nutrients that it needs in order to optimally carry out mental processes the rest of the day.

If you’ve ever skipped breakfast, you know that you likely feel tired, mentally fogged, or unfocused throughout your morning and possibly the entire day! Think of breakfast as filling up your cars gas tank when it’s almost empty. If you forget to fill up with gas, you will either be running on fumes or you won’t get to your destination.

Same goes for your brain, it will either scavenge up whatever nutritional resources it had from the night before, or you will be running on “E.” Running without breakfast means that your mental performance will significantly decline! For this reason, it is important to include healthy brain foods such as: eggs, milk, fresh fruits, whole grains, and bran cereal in your morning diet! Always try to fill up the tank before you start your day!

Start the Day with Physical Exercise. When you start the day with exercise, you start the day with power. We already know that exercise is a great activity for your mind and body. It boosts energy levels, and leaves people feeling replenished, happy, and mentally clear. Exercise is an easy way to shake the sleepiness and kick-start your metabolism.

When you exercise in the morning, you also have the entire rest of your day to do other activities! Take your pets for a stroll through the park, hit the gym, or go running. Biking, rollerblading, swimming, and walking with friends are also great activities. Exercising in the morning is a great way to start each day with a powerful boost of energy.

Consider taking vitamin supplements. Taking vitamin and mineral supplements each day is definitely not a bad thing – especially if you aren’t quite sure whether or not you are getting an adequate amount of vitamins via your diet. I personally take a multivitamin each morning just as a safe measure. They are good for the health of your body, brain, and have been scientifically proven to be healthy. Though there is controversy as to whether or not popping a multivitamin pill each morning is the best option, it definitely won’t hurt. If you can afford taking vitamins, I recommend you take them just for good measure.

Visualize – See the Big Picture. Each time you plan out your day, it helps if you visualize. Close your eyes and use your imagination. Focus on picturing each and every task in which you hope to accomplish today. Visualize your life and how you’d like it to be. Feel free to use positive affirmations or goal statements to help boost your energy. Using visualization is a powerful way to start each morning. It is a phenomenal mental exercise that prepares you for all of the upcoming events in your schedule.

Add a Meditation Routine to Your Morning. Many people find it very helpful to include a meditation routine in their mornings. Research has shown that people who meditate each day for at least 15 minutes enjoy increased energy, mental activity, calmness, and alertness than those who don’t meditate. If you have never tried meditation [in the morning], be sure to give it a shot. It has potential to keep your brain cells, brain activity, and mental state at their peak for nearly the entire day. Mental reflection in the morning is great: your mind is wandering and you can easily recall experiences to reflect upon.

Do a Crossword Puzzle. There are many great mental exercises that you can perform each morning that will help keep your brain fit. Crossword puzzles, Sudokus, Brain Games, and solving math problems are all great ways to improve your mental quickness and dexterity each morning. If you enjoy reading the newspaper each morning, feel free to flip to the crossword puzzle section and test your memory or a Sudoku page and test your quickness.

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Note: If you enjoy this article, consider reading “Benefits of Alpha and Theta Brain Waves.”

Slower brain waves can keep us healthier: mentally and physically

Utilizing brainwave entrainment consistently can definitely yield many health-related benefits. Using alpha brain waves can result in calmness, peacefulness, and relaxation – which helps block stress from crippling our immune system. Boosting theta brain waves can improve our health by making us feel younger, giving us more energy, and improving our immune system. And finally, delta brain waves allow us to produce anti-aging hormones, they boost our immune system, and allow our body to replenish itself. Each of those “slower brain waves” sound like they can produce wonderful health benefits. It definitely sounds wonderful that these “slower brain waves” are able to do such a phenomenal job at keeping us healthy.

Powerful relaxation and better overall wellbeing

A common benefit to increasing the amount of slow brain waves [i.e. alpha, theta, delta] in your brain is feeling deeply relaxed. Scientists have found that when the brain is in slower brain wave states [like alpha and theta], it produces specific hormones and “neuropeptides.” These hormones and neuropeptides that are produced have been linked to boosted memory, creativity, and ability to learn.

Each time you lower the baseline frequency of your brain waves, the more you will feel the healthy anti-stress, anti-aging hormones and neuropeptides. These naturally boost your overall level of relaxation and wellbeing. What the slower brain waves also do is increase the amount of beneficial neurotransmitters and endorphins in the brain. For example: using alpha and theta brain waves will increase your overall level of relaxation by increasing the production of serotonin in the brain. Serotonin is an extremely helpful neurotransmitter that has been linked to both mental and physical relaxation. Also, certain slower brainwave frequencies produce endorphins which make us feel good – like a “natural high.”

For these reasons, virtually any time you utilize brainwave entrainment, neurofeedback, meditation, or even yoga, you are able to feel more relaxed and peaceful. What do all of the mentioned exercises have in common? Though they may all be “different forms” of exercising your brain, in the end, they will all slow down your brain waves.

Why you feel “a natural high” after running

Though you may not know it or remember it, you’ve likely experienced “a natural high” – also known as, your body bein flooded with the production of endorphins. Each time that you go for a run or do any form of hard cardiovascular exercise, endorphins are released. Most people have experienced the benefits of endorphins; whether it be after a long run, basketball game, or other sporting event.

Though you will usually feel very exhausted and were very sweaty after a hard workout, you will also usually feel very good. After working out we naturally feel physically relaxed [and tired], plus – we feel mentally relaxed and calm. Though I highly recommend exercise to increase your overall level of wellbeing, it is not the only activity that will make you feel good by producing endorphins. Any time you utilize brainwave entrainment, neurofeedback, meditation, or yoga, in order to slow your brain waves, you will probably feel the same endorphins ["natural high"] that you did after a strenuous workout.

How endorphins boost our cognition [i.e. memory and learning]

Though you already know that endorphins allow our bodies to feel a natural high, you may not have known that each time we enter an alpha or theta brain wave state, specific endorphins kick-in that actually boost our overall cognition; they improve our memory and ability to learn. Scientific research has proved that in rats that were injected with endorphins had improved memories – they also were able to run through mazes more quickly. Research has also shown that the production of endorphins can actually reverse amnesia – [a condition in which memory is disrupted].

Researchers have also thought that the parts of the brain that are involved in the production of endorphins, are the exact same areas that are involved with memory and learning. One study even proposed that each time we learn – our brain releases endorphins to reward itself and to help us store our memories. This is why memorizing and ability to learn are boosted each time we have increased production of endorphins in our brains.

Increased endorphins in our brain has been linked to theta and alpha brain wave states of consciousness. Think about it: each time we are able to slow our brain waves to the alpha and / or theta range, it is naturally easier for us to drop our old beliefs and literally “learn” new beliefs. This is why you may have heard that slowing your brain waves down to theta and alpha ranges allows you to re-program your beliefs.

How alpha and theta brain waves boost our learning abilities

Catecholamines, acetylcholine, and vasopressin, are three [among many] of the beneficial hormones and other helpful neuropeptides that are produced in slower brain wave frequencies. Studies have shown that acetylcholine is vital for long term memory. They have also found that when acetylcholine production [in the brain] is high, we experience boosts in our long-term memory. More studies have found that when individuals take supplements that boost the production of acetylcholine in the brain, they are better at learning and have improved memories.

Individuals who have lower levels of acetylcholine usually struggle with tasks involving learning and memory. Individuals with the devastating Alzheimer’s disease usually have very low levels of acetylcholine. Theta brain waves have been specifically linked to the production of the neuropeptide vasopressin – a neuropeptide which improves reaction time, ability to learn, and ability to remember. Theta brain waves also have the ability to produce catecholamines which aid once again in our learning process and memory.

Boosted attention and alertness

It is not only our production of neuropeptides that allows us to learn more effectively in slower brainwave patterns. Because theta and alpha brain wave states are linked to relaxation, we experience decreased blood pressure, heart rate, and our entire body feels relaxed. This boosts the overall oxygen level in our brains and maximizes bloodflow to our cortex. This naturally boosts our attention span and level of alertness. Boosted attention and alertness makes it much easier to memorize and learn new things.

Slower brain waves and feeling young again

Are you a person that wishes you could get back some of the same energy you had when you were a kid? Though there are many products on the market to help you: look younger, feel more energetic, happier, and healthier, many do not work. Why? Because they don’t target your brain waves! Research has found that patterns of delta brain waves, theta brain waves, and alpha brain waves, positively affect the production of the hormones: melatonin, DHEA, and cortisol. These three brain wave patterns are able to slow aging, boost relaxation, and increase our overall wellbeing.

In the alpha and theta brain wave ranges, the amount of melatonin and DHEA is significantly boosted in our brains. Research has discovered that DHEA can increase over 50% in certain cases! Even more impressive were the studies on melatonin. Researchers found that slower brain waves boosted the production of melatonin by 300% in some cases! Average melatonin increases were nearly 100%… On top of all the other benefits, the production of cortisol – [a stress hormone usually produced by high-beta brain waves], declined by nearly 50%!

Increase anti-aging hormones

As mentioned earlier, the hormone “cortisol” is a powerful stress hormone that has potential to actually kill brain cells. It has been linked to sped-up aging, health problems, anxiety, and stress. Because of the problems associated with cortisol, it can have a significantly negative impact on our memory, ability to learn, and our overall wellbeing. It is definitely not favorable to have high levels of cortisol floating around in your body.

With that said, DHEA is a hormone that you want to have plenty of in your body. Like cortisol, it is produced by our adrenal glands. Usually, in your twenties, DHEA production will reach its maximum. In your thirties, DHEA production declines and as you age – it continues to decline. Individuals who are over 70 have roughly 1/5th the amount of DHEA as an individual in their twenties. When our DHEA levels drop low, we are more susceptible to developing disease, getting sick, and aging quickly. The higher we keep our levels of DHEA, the less likely we are to get sick, become stressed out, or speed up our aging process.

Lastly, we notice significant improvements with the hormone melatonin. Melatonin has been linked to better, more restful sleep. You already know that sleep is very beneficial for replenishing the brain and body with vital neurotransmitters and hormones. Each time we get a quality night’s sleep, we help ward off the aging process. When we get poor quality sleep, we speed up our aging process. Like DHEA, the amount of melatonin produced in our bodies declines as we get older. For this reason, it is important to lower our brain waves to the alpha and theta rhythms and boost our melatonin levels.

Why slower brain waves release helpful neurotransmitters

Hopefully, you now fully [or better] understand that when you increase your alpha, theta, and delta brain waves [slower brain waves] your brain naturally increases the production of beneficial hormones. This is why many people [including researchers] consider activities such as: brainwave entrainment, meditation, and yoga to be beneficial. Have you ever questioned why the brain produces these helpful hormones and neurotransmitters in the slower brainwave frequencies?

Well, according to scientific research, neurons ["brain cells"] are electrochemically triggered to produce certain neurotransmitters, neuropeptides, and certain hormones at certain brainwave frequencies. Neurons are almost “activated” to produce certain neurochemicals when they are interacting with certain brainwave frequencies. Think of brain waves as communication in the brain. The neurons and the brain communicate by sending specific brainwave frequencies.

This is why each time your brain waves are slowed to the alpha range or theta range, they produce different, more helpful neurochemicals than they would in the beta range. Slowing your brain waves with entrainment is comparable to sending a direct message to your brain cells to start creating helpful neurochemicals. The concept is easy to understand too. Each time you get a quality night’s sleep, your brain shifts to the lower theta and delta ranges.

When you wake up, you usually feel like your energy supply has been replenished… That’s because your energy supply was replenished by the delta and theta brain waves. They produced many helpful, healing hormones and neurotransmitters while you were asleep! Though slower brain waves tend to have a lot of health-related benefits, you should never rule out your beta brain waves. Each brain wave has something helpful to offer / bring to the table.

5 Main Types Of Brainwaves:

1. Beta Brainwaves
2. Alpha Brainwaves
3. Theta Brainwaves
4. Delta Brainwaves
5. Gamma Brainwaves

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Note: If you enjoy this article, consider reading Understanding The “Alpha Brainwave”.

Alpha brain waves are the second fastest in the lineup of basic brain wave frequencies [beta, alpha, theta, delta] – beta waves being the fastest. Alpha brain waves are usually in the range of frequencies between 8 Hz – 12 Hz. Alpha waves are very easy to notice on the E.E.G. – they are very strong, smooth brain waves.

An interesting factoid: alpha brainwaves were the first brainwave group to be researched and the first group to be discovered. The alpha brain wave rhythm is also considered to be the “safest” of the brain wave frequencies to use during brainwave entrainment and neurofeedback. Why? Because out of all four groups of brain waves [beta, alpha, theta, delta], alpha waves usually yield the most benefits via entrainment and rarely produce any unwanted side-effects.

Alpha brainwaves bridge the conscious mind with the subconscious

Alpha brain waves allow you to understand what is going on in your subconscious mind after meditation and after dreaming. Without the presence of alpha waves in your E.E.G. after dreaming, your brain would not be able to transfer subconscious information to the conscious mind. Alpha waves are the connection that allows information to be transfered between subconscious and conscious. Each time you remember a dream that you had, you used alpha brain waves.

Each time that you visualize or go into meditation, your alpha brain waves likely kicked in. Alpha waves are a key part of providing clear, vivid visualization sessions. They allow you to use your imagination, tap your subconscious creativity, and express the creativity through your conscious mind. The alpha waves are usually also at work each time you daydream or use your imagination.

Why alpha brain waves are called “alpha brain waves”

Dr. Hans Berger who was a psychiatrist from Austria first discovered electrical waves in the brain in the year 1908. Berger called these electrical waves “alpha brain waves” due to the fact that they were the first brain wave to be discovered. Another interesting fact about Dr. Hans Berger is the fact that he was the inventor of the E.E.G. machine, better known as an electroencephalograph. The E.E.G. machine is what allows researchers, scientists, and neurofeedback practitioners to understand brainwave activity.

It works by amplifying, recording, and creating graphs of electrical activities in the brain. After using the E.E.G., researchers quickly found other forms of brain activity. Beta waves were discovered next, then delta waves, then theta waves. After all the basic brain waves were discovered, gamma brain waves were found.

Eventually, in the 1950′s, scientists discovered that it was indeed possible for individuals to learn to take full conscious control over their brainwaves. These scientists learned that meditation allowed people to slow their brain waves from the common beta range down to theta and alpha waves.

Know when you access “alpha brain waves”

Each time that you are daydreaming or not fully awake, you are in the alpha brain wave range. The state of mind ‘right-before’ you fall asleep is usually comprised of lots of alpha brain waves. Individuals who lack normal amounts of alpha brain waves usually have insomnia, anxiety, sleep disorders, or high stress. This is why increasing alpha waves for overstressed people can be extremely effective at helping them fall asleep.

I can personally vouch for the use of alpha brain waves to fall asleep. In fact, I used them last night to put me out! I played a 10 Hz alpha brain wave created session and within 10 minutes, I was asleep – I didn’t even know about it. They can be a great tool when utilized effectively! Other times that your brain uses alpha brain waves includes: each time you watch T.V., each time you are relaxing, each mediation session, each time you close your eyes, each time you breathe deeply, or feel completely relaxed during a hot / steamy shower.

For information on how you can increase the production of alpha brain waves in your brain, check out the article 20 Ways To Murder Stress. About 5 of the activities mentioned in that article will do a great job at increasing alpha production. Any time you feel relaxation, your alpha waves are at work! Each time that you feel both mentally and physically relaxed, you are in a state of alpha brain waves.

The first time that I heard about alpha brain waves, I thought that they sounded like a good brain wave range, but I also thought that they would make me drowsy and wanting to sleep, so I stayed away from using them and stuck with beta. When I finally decided to use alpha brain waves, it was an incredible experience.

I found a new state-of-mind that allowed me to remain peaceful, calm, and relaxed – all while maintaining a positive mental state. It really felt great to finally experience alpha waves. Now, I use alpha brain waves a lot more because I know what they can do for me. I use them to help me fall asleep quickly or for some powerful relaxation sessions. Each time when I’ve been stressed out and used alpha brain waves, my relaxation level skyrocketed after about 15 minutes of use. I really didn’t think they could work as effectively as they actually did!

My description of “alpha brain waves”

Think about your entire body and mind being fully relaxed and peaceful. You may feel slightly spaced out, but it actually feels very pleasant. If you’ve every got a very relaxing massage or sat in a hot-tub to the point of relaxation, this is what the alpha brain waves feel like. All of this will usually be followed by inner-calmness, silence, and quietude – as if your entire world was silent and completely still.

It’s still very difficult for you to fully understand alpha brain waves if you haven’t experienced them. In fact, some people NEVER experience the alpha range for most of their lives! Though my description definitely will help you understand alpha brain waves better, it is still recommended to experience them for yourself. Why? Because describing alpha brain waves is comparable to telling you what chocolate tastes like.

I can describe the chocolate by using many different adjectives and descriptors, but in the end, you really must try the chocolate in order to fully understand it and appreciate it. Same rules apply for the alpha brain wave state of consciousness. When you are finally able to fully understand the alpha brain wave range, you will feel liberated and open to an entirely new world!

It really is an amazing experience, but one that you need to experience for yourself. If you are interested in experiencing powerful alpha brain waves, I recommend either Neuro-Programmer 2 Professional or Mind Work Station. These products will get you started and definitely will help you get into the alpha range. I personally use Neuro-Programmer 2 Professional sessions usually at around 10 Hz and they’ve been absolutely phenomenal.

5 Main Types Of Brainwaves:

1. Beta Brainwaves
2. Alpha Brainwaves
3. Theta Brainwaves
4. Delta Brainwaves
5. Gamma Brainwaves

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Note: If you enjoy this article, consider reading Understanding The “Theta Brainwave”.

Theta brain waves typically range from 4 Hz to 8 Hz. Theta brain waves are associated with the “subconscious mind” and are usually produced in the right-hemisphere of the brain – as opposed to beta brain waves, which are produced in the left-hemisphere and are associated with the “conscious mind.” The brain creates theta brain wave rhythms each time you are in “dream sleep.” Also, during R.E.M. [Rapid-Eye Movement] sleep, the brain is full of theta brain wave activity.

Nearly 3/5 of your entire time spent sleeping at night involves the production of theta brain waves in your brain. Many individuals also are able to access theta brain waves when they are: driving for a long stretch on the highway, practicing their meditation routine, using a self-hypnosis recording, or practicing other forms of deep relaxation. When you are able to consciously access the alpha brain waves state, you are just one step away from accessing the depths of theta.

What’s cool about theta brain waves is the fact that they allow you to connect with your “subconscious mind.” The subconscious mind is the place where all experiences, long-term memories, natural creativity, powerful emotions, spiritual connections, and inspiration are all stored. Think of the “subconscious mind” as one big, infinite storage space for “everything” in your life. The theta brain waves are extremely helpful for healing the body of injury and the mind of diseased-states.

Theta brain waves: tap the subconscious

Theta brain waves are such an important pattern of brain waves due to their ability to grant us access to our subconscious mind power. Accessing the theta rhythm allows us to influence and consciously control our “subconscious mind.” How does this happen? Well, each time you are in theta, you are able to pass through your conscious mind. Passing through your “conscious mind” is often a good idea. Why? Because our conscious minds’ beta-brain wave activity usually acts as a “fence” or “gate.”

This “gate” often can prevent us from manipulating or changing our deep-rooted thought patterns in our subconscious mind. This “gate” can also make it very difficult for us to change our emotional state, thought patterns, limiting beliefs, and attitudes if we don’t know how to pass through it. Another interesting fact is that our “subconscious mind,” accepts any affirmations, incantations, or statements that you feed it. It doesn’t question the statement or think about the statement, it begins to act upon the statement immediately!

For this reason, it is actually quite easy to get rid of any negative emotions or thought patterns if you are able to access this state. You can get rid of these thought patterns by implanting new beliefs into your “subconscious mind.” This is why accessing the subconscious mind via hypnosis can have a powerful effect on a person. The reason hypnosis can be successful is because it allows you to pass through the “gate” and add any desirable affirmations, statements, and beliefs directly inside your subconscious mind.

Access your inner “Zen”

Scientists have known that during deep meditation, the amplitude (strength) of theta brain waves will increase. The deeper you are able to go into meditation, the more powerful your theta brain waves will be. Scientists also have discovered the fact that the emotions for “bliss” and deep internal “peace,” are only felt when theta brain waves are dominant on the E.E.G.

Want to amp up your spiritual life? Well, it has also been noted by researchers that it is theta brain waves that allow individuals to experience their “strongest spiritual connection.” Certain scientists even believe that it is possible to speed-up the process of connecting with the spirit. After this research, many personal development products and practices were created. Many of these personal development products created lots of hype because they seemed like the quickest way to feel “bliss” and “peace” – without spending years meditating.

They claimed to help individuals access their “inner Zen” and also claimed they would experience great health-related benefits. These products included relaxation programs, brainwave CD’s, and self-hypnosis recordings. Many of these will not work to help you access your “inner Zen,” but some definitely do. One product that I frequently use and highly recommend is Neuro-Programmer 2 Professional. Thus far, it has allowed me to have better control of my mind, state of consciousness, and emotions. I highly recommend at least giving the free 30 day trial version a shot if you don’t want to buy it!

Theta brain waves linked to “ah-ha” moments

Though alpha brain waves have been linked to “ah-ha” moments, many individuals have experienced them in the theta brain wave range as well! Since theta brain waves are associated with the creativity, infinite data, and inspiration of the “subconscious mind,” it makes perfect sense that “ah-ha” experiences occur in this brainwave range. For this reason, you can usually hear famous musicians, scientists, writers, actors, and other creative individuals discuss how they “found inspiration.”

Many people assume that researchers only spend all day slaving away in a laboratory with little mice trying to make a breakthrough discovery. What’s interesting though, is the fact that most (if not all) of major scientific breakthroughs and / or inventions have been a result of intuitive guidance via mental imagery, dreams, and hunches that scientists received when their brains’ were in the theta brain wave range and they had some access to their subconscious mind.

These scientists were usually: relaxing, sleeping, driving home from work, and doing non-work related activities! During these “ah-ha” moments that many scientists have had, their brains’ were full of activity in the subconscious mind. The majority of the best scientists are completely aware of how the “subconscious mind” works. Just to name a few geniuses such as: August Kekulé, Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein, have all tapped the power of their subconscious mind to help them make huge breakthroughs.

As you may now understand, your ability to utilize and harness the power of your subconscious mind is an extremely important factor in determining the success of many individuals (i.e. scientists, authors, researchers, musicians, etc.). Are you currently utilizing the power of your subconscious to help you solve problems or stay inspired? If not, just take a second to think about how much more efficient and powerful you could be if you were able to ‘shift’ into theta brain waves when you felt it necessary!

Unfortunately, many people aren’t able to access this theta brain waves state of consciousness due to certain factors such as: stress and disease. For these individuals, Neuro-Programmer 2 Professional will definitely get them on the right track.

Waking up in theta brain waves?

Each time that theta brain waves flood your brain, you are temporarily detached from your body and awareness. This is why each time you wake up when your brain is in the theta phase of your sleep cycle, you won’t remember anything. If you’ve ever laid down to relax, ended up falling asleep, and then woke up long past your normal waking tim, you’ve likely experienced some quality theta brain waves.

Remember, that how you feel and your entire “waking up” experience depends completely on the brainwave pattern of sleep you’re in before awakening! Below is a recap of the basic brain waves that you can awaken from and what you’ll likely feel like in each state.

How you feel when waking – phase of sleep cycle

Each brainwave state it is possible to wake up from:

• Alpha brain waves: You will feel extremely energized, pumped-up, alert, awake, and ready for whatever the day has to bring. When waking in this state, you’ll also be able to completely remember most of your dreams from throughout the night.

• Theta brain waves: You will feel very surprised that so much time has passed while you were asleep. You won’t remember the act of falling asleep. The last thing you’ll remember is laying down on your bed – before you realize it, it’s already the morning! Each time you wake up in the theta brain waves state and your brain doesn’t shift from: theta to alpha before going into the beta brain waves state, you won’t recall any of your dreams.

• Delta brain waves: It is extremely tough for any individual to wake up if their brain is producing mostly delta brainwaves. However, if you do happen to wake up during this phase of sleep, you will feel irritable, unaware, and very tired. It will take a lot of effort to get yourself out of bed! Definitely not a good phase of brain waves to wake up in!

Master your brain with all 4 types of brain waves

Once again, it’s very important for you to understand that though theta brainwaves can be very beneficial and helpful – they are not the most important brainwave pattern. In fact, none of the 4 basic brain wave patterns (beta, alpha, theta, delta) are considered “most beneficial” or “best brainwave.” All brain waves are of equal importance and serve their intended purpose. They all have certain benefits and drawbacks in certain situations.

The key is to cultivate a good combination of each of the 4 brain waves [beta, alpha, theta, delta] in order to take full control of your mind and life. This can be accomplished via meditation or neurofeedback. Both activities allow you to take “conscious” control over your brain wave patterns and consciously “shift” to an optimal brainwave for any given situation. This makes life much easier for us to live because we are able to optimally deal with any situation.

When you are able to incorporate theta brain waves in your life, you may feel peaceful and blissful during a session of meditation, but you may not even be able to remember it! Why? Theta brain waves involve the subconscious mind and if we don’t have any alpha brain wave activity to transfer this “subconscious information” to our conscious mind (beta waves) – you’ll believe that you know something on a deeper level, but aren’t sure what because you cannot remember it!

Accessing alpha, but not being able to tap theta waves will allow you to feel relaxed, more internally aware, but will not have the emotional intensity, creative insights, or the spiritual-connection that can only be accessed through theta waves. This is why being able to tap both the theta brain waves, while also having access to alpha waves, allows our brains to transfer important information, emotions, and insights to our conscious mind [because alpha bridges the gap between the “subconscious mind” (theta waves) and “conscious mind” (beta waves). This allows us to actually use the information that our theta range can provide.

Hopefully that last paragraph helped you understand why all four patterns of brainwaves are needed to master the brain. And in case you were wondering about delta brain waves – just think of them as one stage deeper than theta brain waves. In order to transfer information from the delta brainwave range to your “conscious mind,” you need to utilize “theta” (receives information from delta) – “alpha” (receives information from theta) – and “beta” (receives information from alpha). This allows us to be consciously aware of even the deepest universal knowledge and truths.

As you may have already guessed, mastering your brain waves will allow you to live the life of your dreams and consciously create your reality. However, it takes work – and, most people don’t put in work… Which is why a minority of the population is able to live out their dreams! Anyways, the key is to be sure you’re in an optimal brain wave state for your given situation. For more information on each of the various brainwaves, and understand which brainwave pattern is optimal, check out each of the descriptions posted below!

5 Main Types Of Brainwaves:

1. Beta Brainwaves
2. Alpha Brainwaves
3. Theta Brainwaves
4. Delta Brainwaves
5. Gamma Brainwaves

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Note: If you enjoy this article, consider reading Understanding The “Delta Brainwave”.

Delta brain waves are the slowest of all your brainwaves. They usually fall within the frequency range of 0 – 4 Hz. When your brain waves reach levels below 0.1 Hz, you will literally be “brain dead.” Unlike theta brainwaves, which are commonly associated with the “subconscious mind” – delta brain waves are associated with the “unconscious mind.” Due to delta brainwaves being the least understood amongst brain waves [besides gamma] – I’ve decided to provide you with some quality information and hopefully clear up any misunderstandings.

Delta brain waves have long been linked to stages 3 and 4 of sleep. The delta brainwave range is considered “the lowest brainwave frequency. A decreased sense of awareness, increased empathy, and access to the “unconscious mind” are common. It is extremely rare to have conscious awareness of delta brainwaves. Only certain highly spiritual individuals, gurus, yogis, monks, and avid meditators usually are able to consciously access this brainwave range.

Being in delta is like being in the most deeply relaxing trance or non-physical awareness. Usually, when individuals are asleep in the delta range, their other brainwave patterns shut down and delta takes over. If you’ve ever woken up and felt irritable, unconscious, confused, or disorientated, you likely woke up during your delta stage of sleep.

Boosted intuition and psychic skills

The slower, delta brain wave frequencies have long been linked to boosted intuition and even the cultivation of “psychic skills” in certain individuals. What’s interesting is the fact that in some individuals, delta brain waves are present [show up in the E.E.G.] of people while they are awake – along with the other basic brainwave patterns [beta, alpha, theta]. They will never be found as the only brainwave pattern while someone is awake! There usually needs to be some beta, alpha, and theta if delta is displayed while awake.

Anyways, researchers have found that individuals who usually have an uncanny intuition and possibly psychic abilities, usually have delta brainwaves appearing in their waking E.E.G.’s. Think of delta brain waves as a radar system that helps our intuition sense when any form of danger is lurking. Though we don’t always need to sense danger via “gut instinct” or intuition, delta brain waves can be a great form of help. Delta brain waves are a very indigenous, anamalistic, primal-type brainwave rhythm that give us a deeper sense of “instinct.” Basically, the delta brainwaves allow us to be more aware of information that isn’t available to our conscious, beta-brainwave fueled, brains.

Healing the mind and body

Frequencies in the delta range have been linked to healing the mind and body of a wide-variety of ailments and illnesses. Researchers have even discovered that within the delta brainwave range, some frequencies are even able to produce healthy substances such as: DHEA, melatonin, and H.G.H. (Human Growth Hormone). When the delta rhythms run through our brain, it naturally produces a different set of neurotransmitters and substances. With software like Neuro-Programmer 2 Professional, you can stimulate these delta brainwave frequencies and increase the healing speed of your brain and body.

The melatonin, H.G.H. (human growth hormone), and DHEA that delta brain waves are able to slow and or reverse the effects of aging. Another benefit of increasing the amount of delta brainwaves is the reduced production of the “stress hormone” called “cortisol.” Reducing cortisol is great for the body and brain! Why? Because increased levels of cortisol can and will actually kill brain cells, plus speed up the process of physical and mental aging.

In the book “The High-Performance Mind” [written by Anna Wise], Anna Wise writes that individuals who are therapists, guides, teachers, and those into professions which involve “helping others” tend to have delta brain waves while awake. She also notes that spiritually advanced individuals and healers tend to display plenty of delta brainwaves. It has been said that these “unconscious brain waves” give them more understanding and access to other individuals’ mental and emotional state.

Delta brain waves to “master the brain”?

The rhythms of delta brain waves allow us to tap into “universal knowledge,” or the mind beyond our own. This “universal knowledge” has been referred to as the “collective unconscious” – which is comparable to one large pool of the collective knowledge and understanding all of humanity. The delta brain waves give our minds’ the opportunity to enter the gateway which connects our intuition with the collective unconscious.

How are delta waves compared to theta brain waves? Theta brain waves give us insights from our “subconscious mind” – our deepest being and deepest internal spirituality. Theta brain waves look internally and are much more personally meaningful to each individual. Delta waves provide us with access to external unconscious material.

From theta and delta, we will never be consciously aware of the information we have access to unless it gets transferred through our subconscious via the alpha brain waves. Alpha brainwaves are able to pass insights and messages from the deeper, theta and delta brainwaves. Usually, they add specific pictures and imagery around the messages in order for our “conscious beta-brainwave geared” mind is able to understand the messages. After the messages from the theta brain waves and delta brain waves get transferred through the alpha range to the beta range, they can be understood and acted upon.

It is important to realize that there is no single brainwave pattern that is optimal to have at all times. Each of the four main types of brain waves come with benefits and drawbacks. Beta brain waves are great for communication and thinking logically, while delta brain waves are great for intuition and accessing “universal knowledge.” After reading this article, I hope that you understand that in order to take full control of your mind and maximize your brain power, you must learn to take control of each of the four brain waves!

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After spending time reading about brain waves, you probably have gotten the impression that slowing down your brain waves from a high-beta state – or even from a normal beta state – down to an alpha or theta brainwave state can be very beneficial. There are tons of great side-effects that can occur from being able to shift your brainwaves to a slower, synchronized rhythm in the alpha or theta wave ranges. In this article, I hoped to cover some of the healthy effects that have long been associated with slowing your brain waves to a slower alpha or theta state of consciousness.

Slower brainwaves improve your memory

Do you often have trouble remembering where you set your car keys? How about your sunglasses? After meeting someone new, are you able to remember their name? Or are you the type of person who remembers the face, but can never remember the name? Maybe you forgot where you placed your i-Pod… You are desperately trying to think of where you put it, but no matter how much thinking you do, you just drive yourself crazy! Then, out of nowhere, a few days later, the exact location of your i-Pod magically pops into your head.

Each time you have the ability to recall a person’s facial features, past events, name (or nickname), or recall any other past information, the rhythms of your brain waves usually change temporarily from a state of beta to one of alpha. If you have ever been stressed for a long period of time, you get what’s called “alpha block.” Alpha block is a reduced ability to generate alpha brainwaves due to the high production rate of high-beta frequencies. When you aren’t able to generate a healthy amount of alpha, you’ll likely have reduced ability to remember things.

Understand that alpha brain waves are like a “go-between” that connect the conscious brain with the subconscious. This is why when you attempt to remember a past event, the brain quickly shifts into an alpha brainwave state – which allows you to dig up a memory from the subconscious and transfer it to your conscious mind. Once it is in the conscious [beta brainwave] mind, you are able to talk about the experience, write about it, and think about it.

Are you able to easily relax?

When you are able to easily relax after a stressful or highly-stimulating event, you’re brain waves are likely very flexible. You are likely easily able to shift to the slower, higher amplitude brainwaves of alpha and theta. In the alpha and theta states, you feel very peaceful, content, and relaxed – no matter what’s going on around you.

What many people may not realize is that it is impossible to access a state of alpha brain waves when you are not relaxed both mentally and physically! I think we all know that being able to remain calm and cool even when others are nervous or scared can definitely help you remain collected and allow you to make wise decisions – even when others are in states of panic. For this reason, slower brainwaves can help you make smart business decisions, peacefully mediate arguments, and even help others remain calm when they are in those high-beta brainwave, panicky states.

Look into the eyes of others

Have you ever looked directly at the eyes of another person when they attempt to remember something or dig up a past memory? It is common, in most people, to look directly up when trying to remember a past event. This is for a good explanation for the “looking up” though: researchers have discovered that each time that your eyes look 30 degrees upwards, the brain produces a short, quick burst of alpha brain waves.

The simple act of “closing your eyes” has been linked to an increased production of alpha brainwaves. Each time that you close your eyelids and look up [with your eyes still closed], the production of alpha brain waves becomes even more powerful. Most researchers on the topic aren’t fully knowledgeable as to why this happens. With that said, many spiritual teachers have come to believe that the increase in alpha is due to accessing your subconscious mind via an energy center on your forehead called the “brow” [or “third-eye”] chakra.

Note: If you’d like to further improve your memory, I highly recommend checking out my article: “Tips To Improve Your Memory.”

Peak performance and improved concentration

States of “peak performance”

Do you ever get the feeling that your life is going perfect? Or have you ever experienced a period of time in your life where you would describe things as “the best?” Maybe you got a hole in one golfing for the first time and improved your score for about a month straight. We all have had times in our lives when everything felt damn near perfect. This state of mind is referred to as “peak performance” or “in the zone.” Everything seems to “flow” perfectly and you feel as if nothing will go wrong. Time goes by incredibly quickly, and before you know it, you’ve already accomplished a huge task – that felt easy.

Though, not all of our days here go as smoothly as when we are in a state of “peak performance” or “optimal functioning.” The phenomenal news is that you can actually train your brain to shift into that “peak performance” or “in the zone” state of consciousness. Often times people aren’t aware that they can consciously replicate this state. Great ways to replicate this state of mind and take control of your reality are as follows:

• brainwave entrainment – you can flex your brain waves to this state temporarily
• meditation - you can take conscious control over your mental state
• neurofeedback – you can train your brain to produce this state
• self-hypnosis – you can train yourself to access a “zone type state.”

Alpha brainwaves improve our ability to concentrate

Alpha brain waves are able to significantly improve our ability to focus and concentrate. Why? Because alpha brain waves make you use both hemispheres of your brain in the process – instead of relying on your dominant side for concentration. Usually, individuals have a hemispheric dominance in their brains: either right or left. The majority of people have a dominant left-hemisphere. When you are able to access the alpha brainwave state, both hemispheres of your brain are able to share the dominance – they work together.

Sports Teams: Beta brainwaves = 1/2 team vs. Alpha brainwaves = full team

Think of it like a sports team – we’ll use football as an example. When you are in a beta brain wave state, usually only your left-hemisphere is active. So to go along with our “football example” – this would be like only the defense playing well, with the team’s offense being a non-factor. This team would likely loose the game, no matter how good their defense plays – they need to score on offense.

When your brain is able to shift down to an alpha brain wave state, think of it as both the offense and defense playing great together. Both are doing a great job and the team will have absolutely zero problems with winning the game. Alpha brain waves: things go much more smoothly when the team is playing well together and every player is performing. Beta brain waves: it is much more difficult to win when only 1/2 the team “shows up to play.”

Boost your overall energy, youth, and happiness

Have you ever wondered why young children have tons of energy in comparison to adults? Usually, children have so much energy and self-esteem that many adults literally can get tired just watching them. They are like little Energizer bunnies the way they keep going and going without any expression of fatigue… Take a second to think about how energized and “pumped up” children feel about their life. Kids always have a positive, happy-go-lucky, ready-for-anything, look on their faces.

Brain waves: Children vs. Adults

Scientists have thoroughly researched the brain waves of children. They found that children spend most of their time in either the “alpha brainwave” pattern, “theta brainwave” pattern, or a heavily mixed combination of both. As children grow up and become adults, their brains begin producing increased beta brain waves.

This is definitely not a bad thing, as mentioned in the article: Beta Brain Waves: Alert, Awake, and Stressful States. Why? Because without beta brain waves, we’d have a difficult time logically communicating, writing, analyzing, thinking, and organizing. The beta brainwave state is optimal for completing tasks like these.

A key problem, though, is that the majority of the adult population fails to recognize that they spend too much time in the beta brainwave state, and don’t get enough alpha or theta waves. The lack of alpha and theta brainwave patterns can reflect the feelings that adults have. Many may feel that “something is missing” in their lives, or even have a midlife crisis and attempt to rediscover their youth.

The alpha and theta waves are what people are missing when they are talking about trying to find the same happiness and carefree attitude as they did when they were a kid. The alpha brainwave patterns can bring back some much needed energy, happiness, and self-esteem that young children generally display. What if you were even able to direct your excess energy towards completing your goals?

You’d be literally unstoppable and the time you spend “working” would seem to fly by because you’d much more zest and excitement in your life. You can only imagine how much better your life would feel if you had extra self-esteem, a larger energy supply, and felt as happy as you did when you were a kid. Likely, you’d have much less resistance when attempting to accomplish bigger goals because you’d feel so great!

A boosted brain = a boosted immune system

Scientific breakthroughs have recently found a direct relationship between the health of the brain and the health of the body. Look up “psychoneuroimmunology” sometime and you’ll read about some interesting discoveries. Psychoneuroimmunologists understand that people who are consistently stressed out, emotionally drained or depressed, or other mental health issues, have a much more difficult time fending off sickness. These individuals come down with sicknesses much more often than those who feel positive, happy, and have a healthier brain.

Other scientific research has shown a clear link between slower brain waves and a quicker “healing time” from bodily injuries such as: bruises, cuts, scratches, or other deep wounds. What’s crazy is that some scientists even believe that when a person is in a state of alpha or theta brain waves, the healing-rate becomes 10 times quicker! This is really an impressive find.

The slower, alpha and theta brain wave patterns are often very common in the brains’ of people who consistently practice meditation. For this reason, it is not at all surprising that individuals who practice meditation can reap significant health-related benefits. Accessing alpha or theta brainwaves for just 20 minutes can result in lowered stress and anger levels, lower blood pressure, headache relief, and in some cases, even a happier mood!

After reading these claims awhile ago, I remained a bit skeptical. With that said, when I finally did some experimentation in the alpha and theta brainwave ranges, I came to notice an improved immune system, I felt healthier, and had more energy than normally. I still did get sick at times, but it was less frequently and I usually recovered at a quicker rate.

Say goodbye to your insomnia

I love the way alpha and theta brainwaves can work wonders for insomniacs. I used to struggle with insomnia and sometimes my only options were to: A) pop a Xanax and fall asleep or B) Stay up until 3:00 A.M. before finally managing to fall asleep. When popping a Xanax, I didn’t like the feeling of being “drugged up,” and having to rely on a pill to fall asleep. That is purely unnatural. When I stayed up until 3:00 A.M. I felt completely burnt out and tired the next day. Both options were horrible and stress had me in what I perceived lose-lose situation.

After finally discovering brainwave entrainment, I began to experiment with various sessions. I realized that in order for us to get quality sleep, our brains need to ’shift’ from the intense, fast-paced beta brainwaves down to alpha brainwaves. Without being able to shift from beta to alpha, we shift from the stressful “high-beta” directly to “theta” or “delta” and skip alpha. Skipping alpha in order to fall asleep results in terrible quality of sleep.

What worked best for me was using various alpha brainwave entrainment sessions via Neuro-Programmer 2 Professional while laying in bed, hoping to fall asleep. It seemed that even if I wasn’t able to fall asleep, I was in fact able to calm my racing-thoughts / rapid-thinking down to a relaxed state. This allowed me to at least fall asleep in a quicker period of time. After a couple weeks of consistently listening to alpha sessions before bed, I was able to fall asleep when I wanted and very quickly.

Stop and take a second to think about this. Being in an alpha brain wave state means feeling both mentally and physically relaxed. When your brain calms down into a state of alpha, the constant chatter [rapid-thoughts] of your beta brainwaves slow down. This state of “idling” in alpha allows your brain to shift even further down into the theta brain wave frequencies. You are now able to enjoy a healthy, good night’s sleep!

It is also important that in the first stage of sleep (N1), your brain always enters alpha. This is why when you slow your brain waves to the alpha range from beta, your brain naturally believes you are ready to fall asleep… Followed by this, something amazing happens: you do! You actually fall asleep and defeat your insomnia! Say goodbye to Ambien, Lunesta, [insert sleeping pill here], Xanax, alcohol, etc. Whoop whoop!

Take a nap and wake up in alpha waves

Waking up in an alpha brainwave state

Ever wake up feeling alert, energized, refreshed, and pumped up for the day? Well, each time that a person wakes up in an alpha brain wave state, they’ll usually feel highly energetic and is literally able to “jump out of bed.” No matter if you just slept a short period of time or a full night – if you wake up in an alpha brain wave state, you’ll feel extremely refreshed. Nearly 20 minutes after falling asleep, your brain shifts down into a state of alpha. After around 20 minutes, your brain dives down into the range of theta brain waves.

Famous people who had much success with “power naps”

The whole key is to wake up in a state of alpha. If you consistently wake up while your brain is in the delta brain wave rhythm or even theta, you will feel very groggy, tired, and will feel like sleeping a lot longer. This is why research has proved that taking a short power nap can increase your overall energy levels and boost your brain power.

When you take a short nap, you are very likely to wake up in a state of alpha. Many influential leaders who enjoyed taking power naps throughout their day include: Nikola Tesla, Albert Einstein, Napoleon Bonaparte, Salvador Dali, Winston Churchill, John F. Kennedy, Ronald Reagan, and Thomas Edison.

Why napping is good for your brain

A study done by researchers at Harvard University, found that individuals who took a small “power nap” at around midday, actually performed better at memory tasks and learning when compared to individuals who didn’t take a nap. Though it may seem ridiculous, many companies who have advocated napping at around lunchtime noticed significantly boosted mood and productivity amongst their workers.

The director at the Sleep Disorder Center of the University of New Mexico, named (Dr.) Amanda Beck, believes that it is best for everyone to take about a 15 minute nap at around noon. Why? Because even taking a 15 minute “power nap” can boost energy in tired workers. Dr. Beck also stated that, “In a lot of ways, taking a nap is lot better than a cup of coffee.” It definitely wouldn’t hurt to remind your boss of this interesting fact when he finds you asleep shortly after lunch break!

Boost your intuition and “gut instinct”

A cool side-effect associated with increased alpha waves- and especially increased theta brainwaves is a boosted intuition or “gut instinct.” Often times using our “gut instinct” and intuition can be of great help when making decisions. When your brain is in an alpha-theta brain wave state, you have access to the subconscious and deeper intuition. Has there ever been a time in your life when you were thinking of a person – and before you know it, you see that same person later in the day?

Some believe that it is the intuition – or even psychic ability – [provided by theta brainwaves] that allows us to be aware that we will probably see the person who pops into our head, predict that a person is going to call before they do, or even predict a song will come on the radio right before it does. This is how things work: alpha brain waves link your conscious mind with your subconscious mind.

When you are in an alpha-theta state, you are able to dig up some subconscious knowledge and intuition and transfer that information from the subconscious [theta waves], through the conscious-subconscious barrier [alpha waves], and into the conscious [beta waves]. This is why when your slower brainwaves are stronger, it is easier to dig up subconscious advice, memories, or other information.

Interesting facts about slow brain waves

Women are naturally more intuitive than men

Have you ever heard the rumor that women have strong intuitions? Well, if you have, that rumor is actually true! After analyzing the brain waves of women and men, scientists learned that most womens’ brains are naturally running at slower brain wave rhythms than the brains’ of men. On average, the brains of women were found to be operating near the alpha range during their waking hours. For this reason, women can tend to dig up a lot of subconscious dirt via their intuition and sense certain things that most men likely aren’t aware of.

Younger children are highly intuitive

Younger children are also very intuitive. Right before arguments or negative situations, most children can sense when there’s something wrong. This is because most kids have plenty of alpha and theta brain waves. Interestingly enough, the same concept applies for animals – your pets. Oddly enough, the brain waves of animals have been discovered to be primarily in the theta range of high intuition and emotion.

Your pets are extremely intuitive too

For the pet owners out there – you probably understand that your dog or cat seems to know when something is wrong or when you feel angry. Many times, animals have been reported as having E.S.P abilities: they warn their caretaker in some way before a devastating event – they usually act very funny or differently. There are also sometimes cases where dogs seem to sense their owners coming back to the house – without actually seeing them pull in to the garage. It is the intuition that is provided by theta waves that gives them some extra knowledge about their owners’ returning to the house.

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Out of all the brainwave patterns, beta brainwaves are most commonly found in awake individuals. They are the fastest brainwave pattern, ranging from 12 Hz to Hz to 38 Hz – [anything beyond 38 Hz is usually classified as the gamma brainwave rhythm]. The left-hemisphere of our brains, involved with the production of beta brainwaves, has been linked to conscious thought and being “fully awake.” Virtually all individuals besides children, and people with A.D.D., are in beta brainwave states upon awakening.

Why do you need beta brainwaves?

Beta brainwaves are what is used by your brain to help you function in society. If you were without any beta brainwaves, you would be unable to function while you are awake. You would basically be an awake, “brain-dead zombie.” As you are reading this article, your brain is generating beta brainwaves. Activities such as: reading, writing, calculations, and work which involves thinking, all require your brain to amp up the production of beta brainwaves.

Other things such as: reasoning, alertness, logical thinking, and critical thinking are all linked to the production of beta brainwaves. Your brain also uses beta brainwaves to memorize things, plan, think deeply, interpret data, and to organize things [including your thoughts].

The older you are, the more beta brainwaves you’ll have.

Beta brainwaves are very common in adults in comparison to children. Therefore, beta brainwaves are considered to be a “grown up” type of brainwave. Scientists have long understood that most children spend most of their waking hours in theta and alpha brainwave states. Researchers have also understood that as children get older and learn to be more “mature” or “grown up,” the amount of their beta brainwaves increase. With very few exceptions, most brains of adults commonly generate lots of the beta rhythm.

Usually, beta brainwaves increase in children when they begin going to school. This makes perfect sense, due to the conscious, left-brain promotion at schools. You are taught to be highly logical and creativity usually isn’t rewarded – except in art or music classes. All of the activities that children do such as: solve math problems, write papers, read books, all increase the production of beta brainwaves and allow the alpha and theta rhythms to slowly dwindle. Nearly every skill that kids learn at school: memorization, planning, logical thinking, and the interpretation of information do a great job at enhancing and promoting the production of beta brainwaves.

Memorization: Beta Brainwaves vs. Alpha Brainwaves

The act of memorizing facts and data is a very different memorization process compared to when an individual is in an alpha brainwaves state. Therefore, I thought it would be helpful to give you a general overview of memorization in both the alpha brainwaves and the beta brainwaves. The most common way for most individuals to memorize something is via “rote learning.” In fact, the whole education system in the United States [and most other countries] is based on “rote-learning.”

Can you remember back to when you were a small child? If you can, think back to when you began to learn multiplication math tables. Likely, you repeated the tables over-and-over again until they were finally embedded into your brain. You probably wrote or vocally repeated the entire multiplication table until it was finally ingrained into your memory.

What’s happening here is that you’re forcing information down your conscious, left-brain and after constant repetition, that information gets transferred to your subconscious. With that said, you are only able to store information into your subconscious mind if you are able to produce alpha brainwave rhythms, not beta brainwaves.

So, by using “rote-learning” for memorizing the multiplication table is like breaking down your front door (beta brainwaves) to get inside your house instead of just using a key (alpha brainwaves). For this reason, you need to sometimes “beat yourself up,” or spend countless hours with “repetition” before you finally memorize the complete multiplication table. This is why most adults can usually benefit greatly from some extra alpha brainwave production.

The memorization process while you are already in the alpha brainwave state is a completely different experience. Memorizing in alpha, as you may have already guessed, is much easier than shoving information down through your beta brainwaves. Memorizing in beta is like choking down food that you don’t like when eating dinner. Memorizing in an alpha state much more natural. It is like eating a food you really like – it goes down smooth and is easy to retain. This is why affirmations are so much more effective when you are in an alpha or a theta brainwaves state – they are easily implanted into the subconscious brain. In the alpha brainwave state, there’s absolutely no need for “rote-learning;” or constant repetition to memorize.

Next time you are trying to memorize something, try it in the alpha brainwave state

The next time that you have something you need to memorize or learn, slow down your brainwave rhythm from beta to the alpha rhythm. If you’re like most people, you’ll realize that the memorization process takes much less time, is a lot easier, and feels completely natural – because you eliminate the need of constant “cramming” or repetition.

If you are looking for more information on how to increase your alpha brainwaves, I recommend reading my article: “Understanding The Alpha Brainwave,” in which I provide some examples. Another phenomenal and quick way to increase the production of your alpha brainwaves is to utilize the technology of brainwave entrainment. I recommend Neuro-Programmer 2 Professional, due to the high rate of success that many people [including myself] have experienced with the software.

Slower brainwaves linked to being “down to Earth”

Another interesting fact is that individuals who feel connected to nature and are “down to Earth,” usually have slower brainwave patterns in the alpha, and sometimes even the theta brainwave ranges. These “down to Earth” people actually have brainwaves that are much closer to children than most other adults. And this does not reflect their maturity level, it just resembles that they actually show the exact same type of appreciation for nature as children.

The main problem with most highly-mature individuals or adults is that they actually generate too much beta brainwaves in relation to alpha and theta brainwave rhythms. This is why they don’t feel the same energy and youthfulness that many hope to recreate in their lives. It’s funny because recreating this state can be relatively easy with brainwave entrainment or via practicing meditation.

Ever feel stressed out? Blame High-Beta brainwaves

Higher beta brainwaves usually above 18 Hz can result in feelings of: tenseness, anxiety, stress, and nervousness. When your brainwave levels increase above 30 Hz, they’ll interfere with your ability to think clearly and effectively process, and understand your own thoughts. I have personally experienced stress to such a high-degree in the past, that I literally felt as if I had little control over my life due to the constant rapid generation of completely random – sometimes unwanted – thoughts.

High-beta brainwaves and random, stressful thoughts

When your brainwave levels climb the charts, up to the high beta brain wave frequencies, neurons (brain cells) begin firing at random and in an unorganized pattern. This leads to a highly-unfocused, completely disorganized, and confusing state of mind to be in. I can testify for this claim, because I personally have experienced this state. This is another reason that A.D.D. / A.D.H.D. can be experienced in high-beta brainwave states. When your brainwave state remains in high-beta for any extended period of time, you will likely experience a “nervous breakdown.”

Lateralization and high-beta brainwaves

In the majority of people, either the left or right hemisphere is more dominant than the other. This “dominance” by one half of the brain is defined as “brain lateralization.” As your amount of beta brainwaves increase, brainwaves from both sides of your brain can easily get thrown out of sync and “brain lateralization” can be significantly affected.

Slower brainwaves and neural communication

When you allow your brainwave patterns to slow down to the alpha and theta ranges, their is usually much more brain synchronization and communication amongst your neurons. The neurons in your brain begin to efficiently communicate and fire in a healthy, pattern. They aren’t firing at random like they do when you’re in a stressful state of mind.

Say goodbye to all stress and worries

When you do in fact manage to shift down to a theta or alpha brainwaves state, you’ll feel peaceful, calm, refreshed, and natural. Most things that stressed you out in the beta brainwave state may not even bother you anymore. There’s really not many worrisome-type thoughts that ever surface when you’re in an alpha brainwave state.

Are your thoughts becoming a nuisance or self-defeating?

Are you ever excited about beginning a difficult, challenging project? Well, have you ever heard a self-defeating or negative little voice from within that emerges with rapid thoughts telling you that you can’t do it? It’s almost like a voice trained to attack our dreams or any big goals that we have. It may even begin asking questions like: “Do you really think you can do it?” “Isn’t that task a little bit too tough for you?” “How are you possibly going to do that?” All of those questions are asked with hopes that you’ll give in to that little [annoying] voice inside your head and quit your project.

High-beta brainwaves throw away dreams

When you allow your mind to “give in” to this little pestering voice, you actually can talk yourself out of rewarding tasks before you even start! This is terrible. Before long, if you allow this voice to control your life, you satisfy for much less than you know you are capable of doing and accomplishing in this lifetime. Giving in to this voice is like throwing all of your aspirations and dreams out the window and settling for mediocrity. This is incredibly depressing and self-defeating.

High-beta brainwaves make you “sweat the small stuff”

Sometimes, you need to lay down the law and get that voice to shut up! First of all, realize that the bothersome voice is due to an increase of high-beta brainwaves. It’s not really a state you want to be in for any extended period of time. When you allow high-beta brainwaves to overtake your mind, it goes into a rapid-thinking “overdrive” brainwave state. This high-beta brainwave state will make you think deeply about little. Basically, these brainwaves make you “sweat the small stuff.”

Reliving the past or fearing the future

In most cases, high-beta brainwaves cause individuals to either: remember negative events or experiences in the past OR imagine a scary, fearful-type future. This obviously, easily creates states of high-anxiety, self-doubt, and negativity. If you’re like most people, you don’t want to experience depression or anxiety… So, all you really need to do is slow down your high brainwave patterns.

Insomnia and beta brainwaves

Have you ever laid down on your bed with expectations to fall asleep, but you never were able to fall completely asleep? You end up spending most of the nighttime hours tossing, turning, and feel like you need to “try harder” in order to fall asleep. Your body may even be physically tired, but for some frustrating reason, you can’t seem to quiet down your brain. Thoughts flood your mind and no matter what you do, your brain cannot seem to access the lower states of theta and delta brain waves that allow you to sleep.

Missing alpha brainwaves is like driving stick-shift without a gear

This is due to the fact that most people’s brains shift from beta down to the slower alpha brainwaves right before falling asleep. And shorty after accessing alpha, they fall into a deep theta or delta brainwave state of sleep. When your brain is in a prolonged state of high-beta, alpha brainwave production is significantly hindered or diminished.

Because of this, your brain has a difficult time shifting to alpha before sleep and when you finally are able to fall asleep – you inefficiently shift from beta to theta or delta – while skipping alpha. Think of it like driving a stick-shift [manual] vehicle with 3rd gear missing. You need to shift your brainwaves from 4th gear down to 1st, but 3rd is missing. You can bet that you will experience some difficulty and problems like insomnia.

A personal experience with insomnia

I used to have a lot of difficulty dealing with insomnia. I would be thinking about my future, past experiences, stressful experiences, the health of others, my personal health, etc. My brain was flooded with rapid, uncontrollable thoughts that really hurt the quality of my sleep. As a result of this “rapid thinking,” I often times wouldn’t be able to fall asleep until the early morning hours.

Insomniacs should avoid certain substances

At the time, I was completely unaware of beta brainwaves, and had no idea that shifting my brain to a slower pattern like alpha would significantly help with my insomnia dilemma. It really wasn’t until I began using Neuro-Programmer 2 Professional that I was able to consistently get a healthy night’s sleep. The only interference with slowing brainwaves are substances like caffeine, stimulants, or anything increasing beta brainwaves. Substances like stimulants change your brainwave patterns and make is very difficult to sleep after ingesting them.

“Natural leaders” and decision making

You probably know people who usually make terrible decisions when they are stressed out or in a state of panic. People who are born “natural leaders” are almost always able to think clearly, stay calm, cool, and collected even when faced with scary, frustrating, or panic-type events and situations. This is why they are “natural leaders,” they are able to react in a calm manner to any situation – no matter how stressful.

Why beta brainwaves are healthy

With all of the unhealthy effects surrounding “high-beta brainwaves,” it is not at all surprising to me that many individuals come to believe that all “beta brainwaves” are terrible and that other brainwave patterns are always better. However, this could not be further from the truth! There are tons of benefits to having a healthy production of beta brainwaves.

Though high-beta brainwaves are far from optimal, regular (low to medium) beta brainwaves are healthy. Beta brainwaves are the best brainwaves for concentration, critical-thinking, scheduling, planning, and for the interpretation of data. And our entire education system involves learning how to do most tasks in beta brainwave states. Most business operations and companies are carried out by using the logical beta-brainwaves.

With that said, it can be very difficult for some individuals to eliminate stress and quiet their “inner self-defeating voice” – especially when you’ve had negative thought patterns for an extended period of time. The most effective way to slow those high-beta brainwave patterns that’s worked great for me is Neuro-Programmer 2 Professional in combination with activities like meditation, self-hypnosis, and other positive lifestyle changes such as: eating good “brain foods.”

Other than the mentioned activities, there are some great techniques that you can use to help you relax that I’ve written in my article 20 Ways To Murder Stress: Killer Relaxation Tips. So, next time you notice that you’re getting stressed out, you should be able to relax knowing that there are so many solutions towards reducing your high-beta brainwaves to slower, more relaxing ones. You’ll feel great, healthy, and have the necessary technique to remain calm, cool, and collected in even the most intense situations. This control over your beta brainwaves gives you full control over your reality and actually boosts your brain power to make coping with stress much easier.

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I’ve recently been doing an experiment with brainwave entrainment. I started the experiment several days ago and am entraining the left hemisphere of my brain with an 18 Hz beta brainwave frequency. Thus far, my progress has been great and I’m definitely noticing changes. In this article I will discuss the specifications regarding my current brainwave entrainment / life experiment. To create my 18 Hz frequency I used the program Neuro Programmer 2 Professional, which is featured in my recommended products section.

What side-effects are commonly associated with entraining the 18 Hz beta brainwave frequency?

• Outward awareness and sensory processing – The focus of my awareness is supposed to shift from focus on more internal matters to more external matters. For example – my focus may have been more on my emotions and internal feelings rather than on someone else’s. Another example: my focus could’ve been locked on what was going on inside my body rather than the people around me.

• Throws brain’s sodium / potassium levels out of balance - The 18 Hz beta brainwave frequency has been associated with throwing the brain’s sodium and potassium levels out of balance. I don’t exactly know to what degree, but I know that after awhile, it cannot be too healthy. I am also only stimulating my left-hemisphere which may lessen the degree of a sodium / potassium imbalance.

• Mental fatigue - Staying in the 18 Hz beta brainwave frequency for too long can obviously cause mental fatigue. Basically, you end up thinking too much and actually ‘overworking’ your brain. Think of it as you running a mile: sprinting the first 2 laps around the track will probably leave you dead tired for the final 2 laps. Your brain is the same way… Think of 18 Hz as a pretty fast jog for your brain (a speed to fast to run the entire mile at). If you stay in this state too long, you can actually become mentally fatigued. I have yet to experience any yet, but I have only begun the entrainment process.

• Relaxed body / focused mind state of awareness - For certain individuals, the 18 Hz brainwave frequency can allow them to retain a relaxed body + concentration-type state at the exact same time. This is a cool state of consciousness to achieve because the body feels good and the brain is still able to perform all the demanding functions within the beta brainwave state.

• Fully awake / some stress / anxiety - 18 Hz beta brainwaves are associated with being fully awake, fully conscious thinking. Think of it as the exact opposite of brain fog: crystal clear concentration. With that said, this crystal clear thinking and focus can cause stress and anxiety after awhile. Sometimes, when individuals are in this 18 Hz state for too long, they can experience stress or anxiety. As a matter of fact, some people who have anxiety disorders and stress problems are often in too high of beta brainwave states like 18 Hz and would be recommended to entrain the alpha brainwave.

• Memory improvements - It is not a surprise that memory improvements are associated with the 18 Hz beta brainwave because conscious thinking is associated with the recollection of past memories. The beta brainwave state is great for recalling old memories and improving your overall cognition. Your brainwaves are cycling quicker and bring your consciousness more information (from more thoughts) than slower brainwave states.

• Reading speed, speaking, and spelling improvements - Beta brainwaves are associated with the left-hemisphere of the brain (that is where they are largely produced). Because the left hemisphere is associated with thinking, memory, speaking, and spelling, it is no wonder that 18 Hz will do the trick to improve your overall critical thinking and working skills.

• Math improvements / less hypearactivity - Math is another subject that is associated with the left, logical side of the brain. Math improvements are very common when someone is stimulated with the beta brainwave. In fact, 18 Hz has been specifically linked to improvements in mathematics. Also, less overall hyperactivity (in most cases) will be experienced. 18 Hz has been long associated with quieting and / or eliminating the symptoms experienced by most individuals with ADD / ADHD.

What I am hoping to get out of this experiment:

Increases in overall energy levels

I am hoping that the 18 Hz frequency will give me an energy boost (especially in the mornings). I usually feel sluggish in the mornings and don’t want to get up. I remember when I used to be in a high-beta brainwave state I could just jump out of bed and feel excited and ready for the day. I want to experience a little boost in the mornings without drinking coffee or other caffeinated beverages. The beta brainwave range should to a great job getting me up and keeping me up in the morning without forcing me to ingest any (potentially harmful) substances.

Improvements in concentration + focus

Though I think that I could concentrate fine before I began the experiment, I have noticed improvements. All I would like is to improve my concentration and focus levels. Improving my concentration allows me to blog more efficiently and stay focused on certain activities. I am able to exercise more efficiently and get tasks done quicker in a smaller period of time; a natural productivity booster.

Increased overall excitement and motivation

If there is one thing that you’ll really feel from beta brainwave entrainment it’s excitement. Every time I get into the mid to high beta brainwave range, I feel excited. Not about anything in particular, just life, the day, or events coming up. Sometimes the excitement is accompanied by anxiety or stress, but it feels really good. It’s similar to the jolt of energy you get when you feel nervous about something (i.e. before skydiving, bungee jumping, a roller coaster, etc.) – except it feels good. This increase in excitement is associated with a more positive mood, and feeling more motivated.

Less negative emotions and negative thinking

Since beta brainwaves are largely associated with the left-hemisphere of the brain, they tend to make an individual less ‘emotional,’ more rational, and more likely to think-before-doing. Usually people in these states are energetic, thoughtful, respectful, and quick-witted. However, on the opposite end of the spectrum, we have the ADD / ADHD individuals and people struggling with depression.

These people are usually very emotional and are usually in a theta brainwave state of consciousness. The remedy for lessening the havoc that can be caused by too many theta brainwaves is to stimulate the brain with beta brainwaves. Beta brainwave entrainment will naturally lessen the overall amount of theta brainwaves and make you feel less impulsive, more in-control, and more conscious. You will also probably think more positively. Think of them as natural anti-depressants.

Increased logical thinking

If you currently struggle with illogical thinking or random thoughts that don’t make much sense, beta brainwaves may be in order. They are derived and primarily produced by the left-hemisphere of the brain. The left-hemisphere regulates logical thinking, whereas the right-hemisphere is associated with intuition, emotions, and less logical thoughts. Slower brainwaves are produced by the right-hemisphere. If you’d like to experience logical thinking or feel that you do not think in a logical enough thought-pattern, try some beta brainwave entrainment.

How am I stimulating the left-hemisphere only?

I can stimulate the left-hemisphere of my brain at an 18 Hz brainwave frequency by using an isochronic tone. I first create a customized 18 Hz brainwave entrainment session in my program Neuro-Programmer 2 Professional. Next, I usually upload the session to my iPod and play it with “earbud”-type headphones. Next, I remove the “left earbud” and keep the right earbud in my right ear. I then only hear the isochronic tone at 18 Hz through my right ear.

The right ear is associated with stimulating the left-hemisphere of the brain and vice-versa (left-hemisphere stimulation = increased right hemisphere activity). I typically have my eyes open throughout the entire 18 Hz beta brainwave session. Closing my eyes would likely reduce the effectiveness of this session due to the fact that closed-eyes are associated with producing slower alpha and theta rhythms. Slower rhythms would interfere (at least slightly) with the beta brainwave entrainment.

Why did I choose to entrain only the left-hemisphere of the brain?

I currently don’t want to have a synchronized brainwave state. I want to experiment and see how I feel with a very active left-hemisphere. I also think that synchronized brainwaves can lead to problems or even change the desired result. For example, in certain cases, when high-beta brainwaves become synchronized, they actually boost theta / alpha brainwaves later (after the entrainment process).

So the desired result of more beta actually brings forth a production of extra theta brainwaves. I don’t want to run the risk of something going wrong so I used some logic. Since beta-brainwaves are associated with the left-hemisphere and logical thinking it couldn’t hurt to only stimulate the left-hemisphere. Sure my left-hemisphere will become more active, more powerful, and the frequency of the brainwaves will gradually shift towards an 18 Hz pattern, but that doesn’t mean my right hemisphere will become underactive either; it will still be doing it’s job.

How has it been so far? What changes have I noticed?

So far, my experience with entraining 18 Hz in my left-hemisphere has been great. I started 3 days ago and entrain for around 25 minutes each ‘session.’ I have been noticing gradual changes in my state of consciousness (i.e. my desires, music taste (fast tempo vs. slow), desires, appealing activities, etc. I have definitely been noticing changes in my personality and I feel like brainwave entrainment gives me control to manipulate reality and experiment with different states of consciousness in order to “do whatever I desire” in my lifetime.

The changes that I’ve noticed thus far:

Increased focus level

I have already noticed that I am more focused in both conversation and while working than I was before starting the experiment. It hasn’t been a huge shift in concentration, because I could focus fine before. It’s just that my focus has increased since beginning the experiment. It makes perfect sense that it would too. Beta brainwaves are associated with some of the most focused states of consciousness.

Increased energy levels

I have noticed increased energy in the morning and throughout the mid-afternoon than previously. I feel like my brain is literally creating more energy for me to work with. I am not amped up like I drank a red-bull, but feel like I can stay awake easily throughout the entire day until I fall asleep at night.

Slight anxiety + nervous

Though I haven’t noticed a lot of anxiety, I have noticed some. Since I have dealt with it in the past, the anxiety is not crippling nor preventing me from doing any activity that I’d normally do. If I feel nervous, I understand that it’s from the 18 Hz frequency entrainment and actually feel great about it. I know that I am just experimenting with my brainwaves and learning what the various brainwave states feel like. I also understand that I can always fall back on a lower frequency and I’ll calm down quickly.

More overall thinking + more aware

I have also noticed that I am thinking more than before. I consciously notice myself thinking at a much faster rate than before. I also noticed that I am more aware of everything going on in my environment. Things that I may have previously never thought about I now think about. I know that beta brainwaves can cause an individual to think deeply about very little, which isn’t always good.

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1. Connect with nature – Go for a walk in the forest, jungle, field of daisies, or wherever you feel like getting a connection with nature. It is possible to feel at deep sense of peace and oneness when you attempt to connect with nature. As you learn to connect and appreciate nature, you allow your consciousness to rise up.

2. Get your body moving – Exercise and dancing will raise your consciousness by promoting healthy brainwave patterns, healthy neurotransmitter levels, and great circulation throughout your nervous system. Help yourself rise up and break the pattern of not exercising by going for a friendly walk with one of your friends or even going to the club to dance. Both examples are: easy, fun, and empowering.

3. Simple meditation - Whether you are an advanced meditator or a beginner, the benefits are tremendous and will allow you to tap into your highest state of conscious functioning if you stick around long enough. It is an act that will definitely raise your conscious awareness and allow you to attain greater focus, discipline, and develop a deeper joyous connection to life.

4. Spending time with true friends - Find only friends that align with who you are, your beliefs, and your values – they will make you more conscious. These are your true friends, and though they can be tough to find, they should definitely be cherished. Give some of your true friends a call and make it a habit to spend more time with them.

5. Have the intention to “raise your consciousness” – If you have the intention to raise your consciousness and state of awareness, you are on the right track. Having the intention alone will make you more focused on finding ways to raise your consciousness.

6. Tell the truth - Anytime you tell the truth, you raise your level of consciousness. Why do people tell lies? To protect themselves in lower states of consciousness. People in higher states of consciousness don’t lie because they want to be true to themselves, others, and make relationships in humanity more conscious.

7. Find and live your purpose - Searching for a purpose will help you find your true purpose here on Earth. When you find your purpose and are able to share it with the rest of the world, you will continue to raise your level of consciousness.

8. Take conscious control of your decisions - When you take conscious control of all your decisions, you are actually activating certain neural pathways in your brain that help promote self-control, calmness, and inner peace. Every time you allow others to dictate your decisions or you don’t take full conscious responsibility for your decisions, you become slightly conditioned to be less conscious when making choices.

9. Always be open-minded - Being open-minded is a key aspect in the process of becoming a more conscious individual. When you haven’t accepted the diversity that our planet has to offer: ranging from different cultures, religions, wildlife, and beliefs, you will stay in your same state of consciousness or drop to a lower state. Being open-minded doesn’t only need to be for beliefs either. It can be having an open-mind to try something new such as: a new exercise routine, spiritual practice, or trying a new food.

10. Pursue higher intelligence - There are many ways to become more intelligent. Not everyone is intelligent in every area of their life. Some people are more emotionally intelligent, some have a higher I.Q., while some are more spiritually intelligent. All forms of intelligence increases and enhancements will help you on your journey towards expanding your awareness and becoming a more conscious human being.

11. Treat yourself with respect - Having respect for yourself and your actions will ultimately boost the amount of love that you express towards yourself and others. Make wise, respectful decisions that reflect your values and have strong respect for your personal beliefs. Treating others with respect will help you become a more conscious human being too, but before you can respect others properly, you must first learn to show the utmost respect towards yourself.

12. Practice forgiveness - Forgiving yourself can be very difficult sometimes: especially if you are operating in a lower state of consciousness. Realize that in order to rise up, advance, and become a more conscious person, you must be compassionate and forgiving towards yourself. Any hateful thoughts or pent up negative emotions that you may be holding towards yourself need to be released. Negative thoughts and emotions can easily lower our level of consciousness if we do not practice compassion and forgiveness.

13. Cultivate a “high-performance mind” - Cultivating a high-performance mind is a very fun, invigorating process that involves consciously accessing the brainwave state that you consciously choose, whenever you feel it is appropriate for a certain situation. Since their is no single best brainwave state to live life in, it helps to train our mind to consciously be able to “switch” states upon command. For those who want to understand more about developing a high-performance mind, I recommend that you go check out the book The High Performance Mind by Anna Wise.

14. Connect through prayer – The act of simply closing your eyes, folding your hands and saying a prayer will raise your level of consciousness. There are many different ways to practice prayer and there are many different practices, that when combined with prayer, enhance the power of your conscious message. Overall, prayer is a great experience that has potential to aid in your conscious awareness.

15. Challenge your belief system - This one can be difficult for many individuals due to the influence of imprinted beliefs by their parents or guardians during childhood. Some examples of beliefs that you could change include: dietary (changing to a vegetarian), spiritual (from Christianity to Atheism – or vice versa), emotional (from sadness to happiness), etc. By changing your belief system and experimenting with new beliefs, you make yourself more conscious of life’s endless possibilities.

16. Befriend like-minded individuals - On your journey towards becoming a more conscious individual, befriending like-minded people can be extremely helpful. If you are going through many spiritual, emotional, and mental changes without the company of others, the process can be much more difficult and confusing than when you have a guide, guru, or some friends that are traveling at a similar pace to you. Not only is being around like-minded individuals healthy, and optimal for your consciousness, it will ultimately give you more joy in life!

17. Pursue a path of spirituality - Pursuing a path of spirituality and becoming more spiritual will aid you considerably in the process of becoming a more conscious human being. Never be afraid to add a new spiritual practice to your arsenal – you never know what may be most effective or a life changing experience.

18. Express gratitude - Expressing gratitude on a daily basis is a very positive, fulfilling exercise to practice. Ways to express gratitude on a daily basis include: giving thanks for your food, expressing gratitude for yourself and others through prayer (as discussed earlier), complimenting others, and letting another person know that you are thankful for having them in your life. By sharing and expressing gratitude, you feel extremely satisfied and will become more consciously aware of the things that you truly appreciate in life.

19. Make yourself happy - What sort of things make you happy? The answer is usually different for everyone. You can do yourself a favor right now by making a long list of everything that makes you happy in life and acting on your listed items. Feeling and experiencing happiness in your life also will give you the powerful drive that it takes to make yourself more conscious.

20. Act on your desires - Simply having any form of desire will raise your consciousness. Desire encourages us to take action to advance consciously. The state of apathy, or not caring about your consciousness, will naturally lower your consciousness. Desire is a powerful way to raise your consciousness.

21. Boost your brain power and functioning - There are many helpful exercises that you can do to boost your brain power and overall level of functioning. One of my most popular articles, 50 Ways To Boost Your Brain Power, should get you on the right track if you are currently confused about the topic. Raising your level of consciousness will naturally boost your overall brain power, and boosting your brain power will raise your level of consciousness; both affect each other in equal proportion.

22. Take full control of your lifestyle - Are you living the lifestyle that you feel is most beneficial for your mental and physical wellbeing? Maybe there are certain bad habits that you need to get rid of or certain good habits that you’d like to implement in your daily routine. Don’t be afraid to act now and make necessary positive changes in your lifestyle to help you take full conscious control.

23. Choose empowering beliefs - In the process of changing beliefs, choose beliefs that are empowering to your soul. A good way to know what belief will be empowering is to simply ask yourself how you feel about adding the new belief. If you feel a strong connection with a new belief, such as feelings of excitement, it will probably be a very good choice of a belief to implement. Make a conscious effort to purge all beliefs that are less than satisfying. Understand also that as you become a more conscious human being, changing your beliefs will become a much easier, more natural process.

24. Avoid physical fighting and abuse - Physical fighting stems from emotional misunderstandings, hatred, and negative emotional expressions. Fighting can be described as the opposite of peace. Physical fighting and other forms of abuse can really do a great job at distracting us from becoming more conscious human beings. Anything that you can do to stop physical fighting and abuse will ultimately make you and the individuals involved more consciously aware.

25. Be aware and accepting of your emotions - No matter your current emotions, you will profoundly help yourself if you are accepting of them. Going through life resisting your emotions and trapping them inside yourself makes life much more difficult. Trying to escape from our emotions lowers our awareness. When you accept what you feel and consciously understand why you feel a certain emotion, your level of consciousness rises.

26. Speak compassionately - When having conversation with others, do you choose your words wisely? Or are you the type of person who could care less what you say? The truth is, people who choose their words wisely and consciously think during conversation are the ones who show greater respect for themselves and more compassion for others. Make a conscious effort to speak compassionately and positive results will follow.

27. Think positive, act positive, be positive - Being a positive influence sets a good example for others and for yourself. Positivity and states of being positive are direct effects of raising your consciousness. I highly recommend trying to be a more positive person in all areas of life; you will notice and feel the beneficial changes in your awareness.

28. Have sex with your partner - Having sexual intercourse is a great way to spread and share your love with another person. The best way to have sexual intercourse is with another positive, healthy, person in which you fully love and trust. Having sexual intercourse is a loving way of transferring and sharing energy with another person. No matter who you have sexual intercourse with, there can be significant conscious benefits.

29. Identify with your soul - Realize that at your core, you are a spiritual being who is living in a physical body. In lower stages of consciousness, this concept may seem unrealistic and may be very difficult to grasp. As you become better at identifying with your soul, you become better at working your way up the mountain of consciousness.

30. See perceived faults as a “mirror image” - When you look at the faults of others and identify faults in other people, use them as a teaching tool for yourself. The people that are in your life weren’t put there by mistake, they were put there to teach you something about yourself. By being able to take personal responsibility for what is being displayed by others into your conscious focus, you can take the information and make very positive changes.

31. Expand your horizons - Trying something new can pertain to any area of your life. Maybe you want to try to add a new healthy habit to your daily routine, shop at an organic store, or even host a block party for the first time. Having courage raises your consciousness and by constantly trying new things, you boost your cognitive ability to adapt and push through any lower states of fear.

32. Face your deepest fears - Are there any fears that you’re holding inside that are prevent you from making conscious advancement? At certain stages along the ladder of consciousness, it can be extremely difficult to face your fears. With that said, facing your fears will equip your consciousness with more empowerment and energy. Healthy fears include: giving a speech, singing in front of others, or throwing a party; this would be a great list of fears to go out and conquer! The choice to face these will help you considerably in your ability to make conscious advances.

33. Use powerful incantations - Incantations are simply words or phrases repeated over and over with emotional intensity for personal or spiritual benefit. They have commonly been used in religious practices to praise certain Gods or deities, but they have also be used for personal development and in the process of becoming more conscious. No matter what way you choose to use incantations, they can be very helpful and a powerful catalyst for helping you become more conscious.

34. Practice positive affirmations - Affirmations are a bit different than using incantations, though the concepts are very similar. Affirmations are used to change beliefs and thinking patterns. Examples of positive affirmations include: “I am healthy,” “I am positive,” and “I am intelligent.” The primary goal of using affirmations should be to replace unhealthy beliefs and thought patterns with healthier ones; making it easier to scale the mountain of consciousness.

35. Be aware of your state of consciousness - Unfortunately, many people aren’t aware of their current state of consciousness or what even defines consciousness. You may not even be consciously aware of the many diverse possible states of consciousness due to the fact that you may have only experienced one primary state of functioning throughout your lifetime. If you are a person who hasn’t experienced other states or most importantly cannot seem to understand your own state, you are definitely missing out some important aspects and understandings of conscious perception.

36. Set a positive example for others - Setting a positive example for others can pertain to any area of life and is highly encouraged. Setting a healthy, positive example for others to follow spreads a direct positive image into the lives and minds of others. Trying to consciously set a good example for others, will further raise your consciousness. Setting a bad example, or unconscious example, will slow, halt, or reverse your current conscious development.

37. Guide others interested in raising their consciousness - There are many ways to aid others in the process of raising their awareness, especially if you are a more consciously advanced individual. Chances are good that you’ll need to do some personal work with raising your own consciousness before you can put yourself in an effective position to help others raise their consciousness. What you may want to do, though, is encourage others to practice some items in this article or others on 4 Mind 4 Life dot com.

38. Share your unique insight and wisdom - Everyone has a different perspective based on their personal experience, purpose, and personality. Therefore, each individual has a unique form of insight that they can share with others. There are endless ways and opportunities for you to express and share your knowledge with others. All that you need to do is take action towards finding a medium most effective for allowing you to share your insight.

39. Gain wisdom from others - No single person holds all the wisdom of the universe in their brain. For this reason, it is important to study the wisdom of others and try to apply their wisdom to your life. As mentioned earlier, everyone has a unique perspective and knowledge-base to bring to the table. Studying the wisdom of others can be done in many ways. Examples include: meeting face-to-face with a more consciously advanced individual and ask them for life advice, reading positivity and personal development websites from several different sources, or maybe attending different personal development seminars.

40. Keep your ego in check - The more aware you are of your ego, the easier it is to become more conscious. With that said, as your awareness increases, so does your state of consciousness. The reverse also applies: as your consciousness increases, so does your awareness. Letting our ego get out of control and take the driver’s seat in our consciousness has potential to quickly lower our state of functioning. Taking full control and responsibility to keep your ego in check when faced with adversity will allow you to consciously advance in a much healthier manner.

41. Practice personal development - Taking action to better your life through the concept of personal development is an extremely effective way to make yourself a more conscious human being. Think of personal development as the act of upgrading every area of your life to function at the highest possible level: health, finances, relationships, etc. Virtually all aspects of personal development lead to greater conscious development in one way or another.

42. Shift your conscious focus - Being preoccupied with thoughts of past events and of the future has potential to lead your consciousness in the wrong direction. Focusing your attention on this exact moment (commonly referred to as “the now”), however, is a great way to raise your level of awareness. By learning techniques that allow you to shift your awareness to this exact moment, you can work wonders in the process of conscious advancement.

43. Be energetic - Being energetic can be very powerful for advancing your state of consciousness and for inspiring others to become more consciously advanced. Your body can become energized and your brain can become energized. When both are operating in at maximum intensity and energy, you are said to be in a state of peak conscious performance.

44. Make healthy dietary changes - Making healthy dietary changes means searching to find the best possible diet to fit your mental needs, physical needs, spiritual needs; to fit your needs. Are you fully conscious of what you are consuming? In order to boost your own level of consciousness, it is important to be fully aware of the food in which you are consuming in your diet and to be respectful and accepting of the diets of other individuals without making negative judgments.

45. Accept others for who they are - As mentioned above in being conscious of what you eat, it is important to be accepting of the diets that others choose to use. Whether they make a conscious decision to have an unhealthy diet or unconscious decision, accept their actions. Accepting others can apply to every area of life. No matter if you disagree with another person’s actions, disagree with their personality, or disagree with their perception of life, it is important to accept them for who they are and not try to force changes upon them. Settle your disagreements with other individuals by purely accepting them for who they are.

46. Accept and love yourself for who are - Life’s journey becomes much easier and significantly enriched if you can learn to accept yourself for who you are. Depending on your current state of consciousness, it may be difficult to love and accept who you are. Take the time to count your blessings, be accepting of yourself and your level of consciousness. Realize that at this current moment you are doing the best that you know how to do in order to advance consciously.

47. Understand your own thought process - An extremely effective way to become more conscious is to take note of your thought process and understand it to the best of your ability. I’ve seen many people run themselves in mental circles due to an ineffective understanding of their own thought process. Being consciously aware of your thoughts and why you are thinking them is a key step towards creating an accurate understanding of your reality.

48. Bless everything that happens - There are times throughout life when amazing things happen to us and other times when upsetting events take place. Just like accepting who you are is a great habit to get into, you should also learn to bless everything that happens in your life. No matter how bad an event, it has potential to make a positive impact on your life in the long run. Your ability to bless and appreciate, even what may be initially perceived as a worst case scenario, will ultimately provide you great conscious satisfaction.

49. Take time for internal reflection - In my opinion, taking time for internal reflection is the single most effective way to learn more about yourself and your current state of consciousness. Internal reflection will certainly help you better understand your thoughts, emotions, spirituality, and provide clarity in your current life situation. If you don’t currently take time to internally reflect, you could very well start up a 20 minute meditation routine each morning and observe the difference it quickly makes in your state of consciousness.

50. Focus on advancing consciously - In the process of conscious development, it’s important to focus exactly on what you are trying to accomplish: the act of becoming more conscious. During this process, it is important to tune out all unhealthy distractions such as: negative relationships, abuse, fighting, illicit drugs, etc. If you allow yourself to become distracted with unhealthy, unconscious habits, then act of advancing consciously will become a much more difficult or slower process than normal.

51. Be aware of your breathing - Being aware of your breathing means being fully conscious of your breathing pattern. Being aware of how you are breathing is important. Unfortunately, many people are unaware that there is actually a proper way to breathe. A way of breathing that is optimal for your body and brain. Proper breathing involves inhaling through your nose and exhaling through your mouth upon every breath. The process of becoming more aware of my breathing through exercises like meditation and conscious breathing have significantly helped me increase my overall level of focus, emotional stability, and level of consciousness.

52. Spend more time with yourself - In the fast-paced lifestyle of the 21st century, it is very common for people to spend time with others, yet never take personal time to spend with themselves and focus on their own life. If you are an individual who is currently not taking enough time for yourself each day, try starting up a personal routine. Examples of ways that you could spend time with yourself, contributing positively to your own life include: taking time for internal reflection (meditation), letting yourself know how much you love yourself, going on a walk to listen to your own thoughts, giving gratitude for everything that you have in your life, or getting involved in a hobby that inspires you.

53. Listen more often than you speak - In this day in age, it seems as though there is always someone that wants to be the center of attention; conversations easily become viewed as egoistic competitions. While being the center of attention can feel great and can be a rewarding experience, it can become consciously dangerous to your consciousness if it is motivated by your ego. By practicing the act of listening more often than you speak, you can train yourself to be more consciously aware of others, while still holding the conscious ability to politely contribute to a conversation.

54. Muster up some courage - Being highly conscious means doing what you want to do, saying what you want to say, and living how you want to live at every moment. Somewhere along the path towards developing a highly conscious mindset, you will need to be courageous. Developing a sense of courage is an integral step, possibly a phase that may last several years, on your journey to become more conscious.

55. Always act with compassion - Having complete compassion for others is a direct result of becoming more conscious. Unfortunately, there are few people here on Earth that are honestly able to make the claim that they always act with complete compassion for others. Compassion meditation also allows you to learn how to shift your mental focus from any state into a perspective of pure love for others. As you may have already guessed, practicing compassion can be one of the single most powerful exercises for boosting your level of consciousness.

56. Improve your mental focus - Improving our mental focus helps us get a better understanding of reality and provides us with more inner clarity. As we enhance our level of focus and clarity, concepts that had previously seemed very difficult to understand become general knowledge. We get a better sense of understanding within ourselves and of the world around us. As your level of focus increases, so will your level of consciousness.

57. Think rationally and logically - Being able to think rationally and logically allows you to positively interact with your reality much easier than being irrational and illogical. In fact, being irrational and illogical will actually lower your current level of awareness. Rational thinking is a byproduct of a high functioning brain, particularly the high activity within your left-prefrontal cortex. One great way to increase your ability to rationalize is to strengthen your brain’s level of functioning by boosting your brain power.

58. Purify your body - One great way to become more conscious is to purify your body. You can help purify your body by going on a specific diet, by cutting certain substances from your diet, by decreasing stress and learning to deeply relax, by cutting certain substances from your diet, by sitting in a sauna to sweat out toxins, etc. While following a detox routine, be conscious of what you are doing to your body. Be fully aware that you should choose a detox routine that has been researched and proven effective in order to avoid risking bodily damage in the process. With that said, choosing to purify or cleanse your body can really work magic for your current level of consciousness.

59. Start a personal journal - Starting a personal journal or blog is a great time investment that will allow yourself to become more conscious of your: thoughts, feelings, actions, philosophies, beliefs, etc. Writing entries in a daily journal or on a personal blog can be extremely helpful in the process of understanding your current state of awareness. What is nice about keeping tabs on yourself is the fact that you can watch your progress as you undertake a conscious journey. No matter your strategy for keeping a journal, understand that keeping tabs on yourself and events in your life serves as a great way to develop a deeper sense of understanding, knowledge, and conscious awareness.

60. Make others laugh - Being funny and making others laugh is a great way to ease stress and create a more positive outlook in life for yourself and for others. Though you may not be an expert comedian, being able to make others laugh is extremely rewarding and satisfying. Making others laugh and smile shifts all attention away from pain and negative emotions, towards one of pure enjoyment and happiness. Jokes and the ability to laugh can really change your entire perspective from what may seem like a grim, serious situation, to a happier, more positive outlook.

61. Practice a religion - Practicing a religion is a phenomenal way to become a more conscious person. As you raise your current level of awareness, you will discover that there is really no best religion or Utopian religion to practice. What matters most in conscious advancement is getting a feel for what practices actually make you become more consciously aware. You need to personally determine what works best for you. One of the best ways to do this is via experimenting with many different religions.

62. Respect the beliefs of others - At no time is it loving or respectful to criticize the beliefs of others. No matter how consciously advanced another person is or isn’t, it is important to respect their thoughts and actions. When you try to force others to adopt your lifestyle, beliefs, and force them to become a more conscious human-being, you are indirectly expressing negative emotion towards that individual; you are getting your ego heavily involved. Forcing others to consciously change is not truly accepting them for who they are. If you feel like you should force others to raise their awareness, perhaps you need to raise your awareness some more! It is important to realize that everyone will have their time to advance consciously and will eventually reach the “top of the mountain” on their journey to their higher consciousness.

63. Ask questions about your life - Attempting to learn more about life each day is a great way to increase your overall knowledge base and a great way to become a more conscious person. Nobody “knows-it-all” in life, that’s why asking questions about life and about certain situations in life, will really help you out on your journey. The idea here is to learn as much about life as possible. This will allow you to make your lifestyle more conscious, your choices more conscious, your actions more conscious, and yourself a more knowledgeable person. If you don’t feel like asking others questions, a great way to learn more about life is to ask yourself internal questions. Often times we don’t realize that within ourselves, we hold the answer to every question about our life. Meditation is highly recommended as an exercise for learning more about our inner-self.

64. Understand that everything changes - Whether you realize it or not, everything and everyone is in a constant state of change. Change is undeniable and is happening to yourself and others as you are reading this. There is no way to prevent change, but there is a way to consciously control your change. Be the change that you want to see on this Earth and please: make it a positive, conscious one!

65. Realize that you are not alone - On your journey towards becoming a more conscious human being, it is important to realize that you are never alone in the process. Someone, somewhere is going through the same process and many have already gone through the process. There are likely many individuals that are more consciously advanced than you are: which is a good thing. Look to these individuals for guidance along the way. We can always look to more conscious individuals for personal guidance and advice in life.

66. Push your personal limits - Pushing your personal limits to become the best person that you can be is something that everyone should strive for. Pushing your personal limits is something that you can do in every area of your life: relationships, exercise, consciousness, spirituality, finances, etc. Pushing your personal limits in the areas that you feel most soulfully-connected with are the areas that you should probably put the most work into in order to feel the greatest sense of fulfillment.

67. Invest in yourself - When you make money, do you invest it in stocks? Have you ever thought of investing it in yourself – your purpose, vision, values, and goals? Besides money, we can also invest time in ourselves. In my opinion, investing time in yourself is one of the most effective ways to become more conscious. Investing time in yourself will allow you to discover your true purpose and become a more conscious human being.

68. Be open to exploring consciousness - There are many ways to be open to exploring your consciousness. Several methods to explore your consciousness include: brainwave entrainment, meditation, raising your consciousness, trying new activities, exploring spirituality, exploring different social groups, changing your environment (by traveling), trying neurofeedback, etc. If you don’t know of any healthy ways to expand your consciousness, start with the ones that I’ve listed. No need to unnecessarily kill your brain cells and lower your consciousness by using illicit drugs to “expand your mind…”

69. Develop a deep relationship - Developing deep, trustworthy relationships with other people are not only great for helping you to become more conscious, they are a great way to share love and joy with others. If you haven’t already done so, develop a deep, personal relationship with at least one individual. It could be a good friend, spouse, boyfriend / girlfriend, it could be a good therapist, it could be anyone that you feel is on-the-same-page as you in life, or at the same level of consciousness. Having another person to discuss your personal inner-thoughts with and share your turmoil, joy, and all other emotions with, will actually make you a happier, more conscious person.

70. Call upon your spirit guides - Everyone has spirit guides – whether they believe in them and want to communicate with them or not. Before we are born, we are assigned spirit guides to do just what their name implies: guide our spirit. They can often provide us with valuable advice and some forms of intuitive connection that most of us never imagined was possible. The best way to connect with them is to learn proper meditation. The job of spirit guides are to help guide your spirit in the right direction and they really want to connect with you to help you raise your consciousness. So consider learning ways to connect with them on a personal level, or finding an advanced spiritual seeker / psychic that knows about spirit guides and how to connect with them. It seems as though Erin Pavlina has gotten great reviews discussing her ability to help you connect with your guides. Though her readings are somewhat expensive, getting one could prove to be a great investment in order to accelerate your personal growth and conscious development.

71. Clear emotional blocks - Nearly everyone has some form of subconscious emotional blocks that they have suppressed within their subconscious. Emotional blocks can develop in childhood and can be forgotten by the time a person reaches adulthood. They can drain your conscious control over life if you don’t learn to properly release them. It is not advised to attempt to deal with very powerful emotional blocks or repressed traumatic memories by yourself. Consult a trained therapist or psychologist to help you work through your past powerful emotion. Realize that when you are able to work through your past emotional blocks, you naturally allow yourself to reach a higher state of consciousness.

72. Clear out subconscious “cobwebs” - What exactly are subconscious “cobwebs?” I refer to subconscious cobwebs as any unfulfilling: beliefs and emotions that have been carried around in your subconscious mind for too long. Many times, our subconscious mind is carrying around extra negative emotional baggage and limiting beliefs that need to be released or replaced. If you want to clear out your subconscious “cobwebs” and take conscious control of your subconscious mind, consider trying meditation. Meditation takes your consciousness to a deeper level and makes reprogramming your mind a much easier process.

73. Turn off the T.V. - Depending on your current level of consciousness, watching T.V. may actually be a good thing. For those individuals operating at an extremely low level of functioning, watching T.V. gives them hope, satisfaction, and a boost in consciousness. With that said, to permanently elevate your consciousness, it is recommended to refrain from watching T.V. If you think about the act of watching T.V., it doesn’t reflect your life’s purpose nor allow you to be fully productive. The time that you currently spend watching T.V. could be put to better use by allowing you to accomplish a personal goal, providing you with extra time for exercise, or even giving you time to boost your brain power!

74. Read a good book - Whether you enjoy reading fiction or non-fiction books (or both), reading books is a phenomenal way to help you boost your conscious brain power. Reading books provides you with knowledge, creativity, and allows you to fully expand your intellect. Reading books will also help you become a smarter person, with a mind that is full of new thoughts and ideas. The more credible information that you are able to read, the more information and knowledge your consciousness has to consciously create with.

75. Expand your creativity - There are many ways for us to expand our creativity and abilities to creatively think. Developing ways to creatively think not only boosts brain power, it boosts your consciousness. The use of brainstorming, creative visualization, Zen koans, and meditation have all been known to increase creative thinking skills. Creativity is an important trait to develop when dealing with your reality. Having creativity allows your mind to easily solve even the most difficult of problems. If your creative-side is currently lacking, think of ways to step-it-up a notch to reap the conscious benefits!

76. Develop strong people-skills - Developing strong people-skills will allow you to become more conscious in many different ways. Having strong people skills allows you to be comfortable expressing who you really are in any social situation. Without developing strong people skills, you may be stuck in a state of fear around others in social settings or even worse, you may feel completely uncomfortable expressing your true beliefs, values, and discussing your lifestyle in front of others. Cultivating a strong set of people-skills will allow you to become a more conscious individual and will allow you to share your love with others.

77. Allow yourself to be inspired - Allowing yourself to be inspired helps you to take passionate action. In order for us to be inspired, we usually need to have some sort of emotional connection. Maybe you are deeply inspired by a song that you recently heard on the radio, maybe you are inspired by Barack Obama, maybe you are inspired by Hilary Clinton, maybe you find Pablo Picasso’s artwork inspiring. Everyone is different and everyone is uniquely inspired by different things here on Earth. Inspiration can really work magic in your life if you let it. Taking actions based off of positive inspiration will ultimately guide your consciousness to a higher level of functioning.

78. Be courteous towards others - Being courteous to others is a great way to share love, positivity, and a great way to set a good example for others. Each time that you set an example, you have some influence onto others. Each time that you practice a healthy habit or put courteous actions on display for others to see, they will be much more inclined to follow suit. When you are able to be courteous to everyone that you meet, you are raising your consciousness through compassion.

79. Attend a spiritual retreat - There are many spiritual retreats and spiritual opportunities that can quickly boost your state of consciousness. Meditation retreats and gatherings with your religious group are two of many ways to raise your consciousness. The act of going to church is yet another form of attending a spiritual gathering. Going to an event like a Holosync retreat may also be a great way to connect with a fun, positive group of individuals that could prove to be lifelong friends. You will never truly know nor understand the possibilities of conscious transformation that a retreat has to offer until you actually make it a point to attend.

80. Form a mastermind group - Forming a mastermind group is a great way to help you become more conscious and complete your goals. To participate in a mastermind group, you must first gather up some trustworthy friends. Next, schedule times that your entire group will meet to discuss personal challenges, goals, accomplishments, etc. Meet with each other and discuss your goals. Be as positive and encouraging towards one another as possible. Offer suggestions and serve as a motivation for the rest of your group. Mastermind groups are a form of conscious, positive support that allows you to accomplish your goals much easier. And, social support (i.e. a positive group of friends) is always great to have when working to become more conscious. Do whatever you want with your group, have fun, be positive, and realize that you are raising your consciousness in the process!

81. Be a mediator - There are many situations that arise from negativity in this world. One way to break up these situations in a peaceful manner is to be a mediator. A mediator is a person that is able to resolve conflict between two parties and think of a peaceful solution to a problem that both conflicting parties agree upon. In the end, the best part about a mediation process is the satisfaction that you can derive from helping bring peace to the world. Helping others is a great way to create a true sense of happiness in your life. Anytime that you bring peace, the collective consciousness of humanity takes a step in a positive direction.

82. Build an accurate model of reality - Building an accurate model of reality is a great way to explore the endless possibilities that life has to offer. Gaining conscious control of your thoughts will aid you in the process of creating your reality. When you are able to take control of your focus, building an accurate model of reality becomes an easier task.

83. Be a leader – Being a positive leader is an awesome way to raise your level of consciousness and that of others. If you are able to become a leader who is able to influence large groups of people in a positive manner, you will naturally develop a lot of conscious power. Each person that supports your message, adds to your ability to share your purpose. If you haven’t thought about stepping up and becoming a leader in some way, now is the best time to start thinking about it!

84. Travel the world - Traveling the world most definitely has potential to change and expand your state of awareness. As you travel to different places, you are able to learn about unique: ways of life, ways of thinking, religions, customs, values, etc. This is why it is extremely common for huge changes in perception to occur. Traveling to many different parts of the world is one way of exploration that allows you to experience life on a larger scale.

85. Be empathetic - Advanced empathetic abilities can be cultivated by accessing the lower brainwave states: both the theta and delta brainwaves. Making a conscious effort to become a more empathetic person means trying to understand and relate to others and their emotions in as an effective method as possible. Being empathetic is a great way to spread love and compassion in the world. And spreading love and compassion are great ways to help you become a more conscious person!

86. Set goals and accomplish them - Setting positive goals and working to accomplish them is one of the single most effective ways to advance consciously, without even having the intention to advance consciously. For example: you may set the goal to exercise everyday for one month in order to improve your health. By setting and completing a goal like this, your main focus is improving your health, however, you are also indirectly improving your consciousness.

87. Try brainwave entrainment - Though brainwave entrainment seems like a new-agey, experimental technique, it is a great tool for advancing consciously that actually works. Not only does brainwave entrainment work well, it is an extremely effective way to develop a powerful brain and advanced state of consciousness. By practicing brainwave entrainment, your brain becomes more flexible in the process of shifting to various brainwave states. You can always give brainwave entrainment a trial and evaluate how effective it is at helping you advance consciously! Check out the software featured in my recommended products section and give one of those a trial run.

88. Try self-hypnosis - What many people do not realize is that the act of self-hypnosis is very helpful for achieving states of complete, controlled relaxation. During self-hypnosis you develop full, complete control of the beliefs that are implanted in your subconscious mind. Self-hypnosis relaxes your body and takes you into a state of highly-focused, deep relaxation. No matter whether you enjoy self-hypnosis or meditation more, they are both exercises that will allow you to elevate your consciousness. Give self-hypnosis a shot if you haven’t already – it is a perfectly safe, exercise that will benefit your consciousness greatly!

89. Develop your chakras - Learning to clear and cleanse your chakras could prove to be one of the single best investments that you’ve ever made for yourself. Chakras hold the key allowing you to tap into your higher-self and connect with energy from the Universe. Working directly with your chakras will help you become a more conscious person, making you more aware of your body’s energy centers and how they can affect your entire life.

90. Release your Kundalini energy - My definition of Kundalini: a (usually latent) energy force that is coiled at the base of our spine. We’ve all felt Kundalini from time to time during extremely emotional moments, when a certain song plays, or when we have a powerful experience. What does Kundalini feel like? Kundalini the energy that makes our spine tingle. We get goosebumps throughout our body and our entire spine tingles with emotional energy. Kundalini is a completely healthy and powerful method to advance consciously. It is not recommended to go into a Kundalini experience blindly, though. Do some research on “Kundalini energy” and consider working with a guru or a person who has been through the entire process if you hope to release your Kundalini energy.

91. Appreciate your surroundings - To further allow yourself to develop consciously, it is important to be appreciative and thankful for everything in your environment. Each day and every day, the little things that we may be taking for granted are often some of the most amazing forms of beauty. Simple things like the sunset, a field of flowers, or the face of our neighbors are all beautiful expressions that we may not be taking the time to appreciate. When we are able to realize that everything is connected and that we were truly meant to love and appreciate one-another, we naturally become inherently grateful for our surroundings and what the Earth has to offer – and thus, more conscious.

92. Bring new life to Earth - Each time that you are able to make a contribution to life here on Earth, you bring forth another brilliant expression of our universe. Each time that you bring human life, plant life, animal life, etc. here on Earth, it is something to be truly proud of. Ways that you could contribute to bringing life to this planet include: raising children, adopting a child, planting a flower, or raising an animal. The inner feelings that you may feel as a result of bringing forth new life are perfect for finding true happiness and taking yourself to the next conscious level.

93. Lead a flexible life - Flexibility is a key part of gymnastics… it also is a key part of life and the process of becoming more conscious as a human being. Leading an overly-structured life often becomes overwhelming and unpleasurable. You need to take time to appreciate the moments of spontaneity and spur-of-the-moment type events. Being flexible is a great attribute to cultivate in your life. Though learning to be flexible is just a small habit that will make you more conscious (by opening up your life to new opportunities), it is a highly important principle to implement into your life and reality.

94. Learn from “consciously advanced” individuals - More consciously advanced people have a lot to offer those who are less consciously advanced. They often provide us with great discoveries, insights, and guide our lives in a positive direction. If you happen to know someone that is at a higher cognitive level of functioning than yourself, spend some time with that individual. Ask them questions about their life, questions about your life, or any questions about life in general. See how these individuals feel about raising consciousness and how they can help you work to increase your conscious awareness.

95. Live a well-balanced life - Keeping a balanced life can be very difficult at times. However, keeping activities in proper balance is a great way to become more aware and involved in many areas of life. Make a conscious effort to focus your energy towards what inspires you most, but don’t forget to be flexible and take time for important people and activities like: friends, family, expression, and exercise. Being well-balanced with activities in life provides us with greater conscious satisfaction.

96. Consider taking health supplements - Supplements have long been known to help aid in mental processing and boost physical functioning. I personally have taken a multivitamin in combination with 3.6 grams of fish oil on a daily basis for almost 2 years straight. Overall, I feel that the combination has worked phenomenal for helping my physical functioning and mental processing. Always be open minded: consider taking supplements if you aren’t already. Do a personal experiment to see what supplements work best for you and how various supplements affect your consciousness. In the end, you may decide that all supplements are ineffective and that they were nothing more than placebos.

97. Celebrate your accomplishments - Celebrating your accomplishments is a form of self-praise and self-respect. When you value yourself and appreciate yourself, you are likely to celebrate your accomplishments – and actually have accomplishments to celebrate! Celebrating is a fun and rewarding activity to do to make yourself happier. It increases your levels of overall self-love and respect: both of which are key factors in the process of raising your consciousness.

98. Always have positive intentions - Positive intentions often arise from having a positive mindset. Having a positive mindset and forming the habit of holding good intentions is a great way to boost your level of conscious awareness. When you intend for positive events to happen in your life and always have positive expectations – your life will naturally attract positive people and will result in happiness.

99. Read and recommend 4 Mind 4 Life dot com to others - Remind yourself of ways to become more conscious by re-reading this series and other articles here at 4 Mind 4 Life dot com. I always try to provide you with the most valuable advice to help you boost your level of consciousness. Though the main focus of this website is boosting brain power, your level of consciousness goes hand-in-hand with how powerful your brain is; the more powerful your brain, the easier time in raising your consciousness you will have. I can only promote my message to a certain extent. Each time that you help me by recommending my website or this series to another person, you will be helping guide others towards positive change. I send blessings to everyone who reads this series, recommends this series, recommends this website, or applies advice from this website to better themselves.

100. [This space is intentionally left blank for you to fill in] - Nobody knows and understands what works best to help your consciousness better than you! Be creative, fill in the last blank already! Choose an activity that you enjoy that renews your sense of wellbeing and resonates congruently with your soul. Blessings to everyone that made it this far down the list!

~This marks the last number of the last post in the Raising Your Consciousness: 10X10 Series. I sincerely hope that you all enjoyed it and personally feel that it will serve as a great reference to every visitor in the table of contents section. Feel free to print out your favorite chapter from this series (or all of them). Keep them to yourself or share them with others. Feel free to link to this series from your website if you feel like blogging about it. My goal when writing this series was to motivate others to raise their consciousness and start a movement towards becoming more conscious individuals here on Earth. Are you ready to become more conscious?

For a thorough, more in-depth version of this 100 Ways To Become More Conscious article, I have divided the 100 ways into 10 sections of 10 methods. In each of these sections, I cover each listed number more in-depth than was discussed in this article. For a thorough explanation certain items on the list, click on the corresponding article:

1. 10X10 Ways To Become More Conscious (Part 1) #1 – 10
   
2. 10X10 Ways To Become More Conscious (Part 2) #11 – 20
3. 10X10 Ways To Become More Conscious (Part 3) #21 – 30
4. 10X10 Ways To Become More Conscious (Part 4) #31 – 40
   
5. 10X10 Ways To Become More Conscious (Part 5) #41 – 50
   
6. 10X10 Ways To Become More Conscious (Part 6) #51 – 60
7. 10X10 Ways To Become More Conscious (Part 7) #61 – 70
   
8. 10X10 Ways To Become More Conscious (Part 8) #71 – 80
   
9. 10X10 Ways To Become More Conscious (Part 9) #81 – 90
10. 10X10 Ways To Become More Conscious (Part 10) #91 – 100
    

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1. Be a mediator; bring peace to the world

There are many situations that arise from negativity in this world. One way to break up these situations in a peaceful manner is to be a mediator. A mediator is a person that is able to resolve conflict between two parties and think of a peaceful solution to a conflict that both parties agree upon. There are many training courses and a lot of information online that will help you build mediation skills if you are interested. Being a successful mediator requires practice, love, and compassion for others.

Back in grade school, I was fortunate to be trained in the art of mediation. I was a “peer mediator” at my school and learned to mediate by helping other kids resolve their conflicts peacefully. I went through a one-week training course and really learned a lot. I am now able to successfully, and consciously help others solve problems in a quick and effective way. The great thing about becoming a mediator is that you have the ability to train others, and bring peace to this Earth.

Being able to bring peace instead of fuel-for-a-fiery-argument is a great way to help raise consciousness on a global scale. Each time that you are able to bring peace and act as a mediator, you bring more peace to the world that we live in. You also set a great example for others. When they see that you are able to resolve relatively large conflicts in an easy, simple, and effective manner, they will be much more likely to respect your mediation skills. In fact, you will be able to further help the world by training anyone that is interested in learning mediation.

Another great thing about mediation is that it allows you to empathize with others. To hold a successful mediation session, you must first listen to the conflicting points of view. Next, you hold an active discussion involving the conflicting groups and figure out a solution to solve the problem in a peaceful manner. You may offer suggestions and tweak the suggestions to successfully accommodate the needs of both parties. After you’ve finished the mediation process, you can make both parties sign an official document of peace so that the stick to the agreement. In the end, the best part about the entire mediation process is the satisfaction that you can derive from being the individual to help others solve their problems. The satisfaction that helping others brings will also help you discover true happiness in your life; you will notice that your ability to help has helped raise the collective consciousness of humanity here on Earth.

2. Build an accurate model of reality

Building an accurate model of reality is a great way to explore the endless possibilities that life has to offer. In my personal building and shaping of my reality, I have used meditation to help me create. Meditation allows you to gain full conscious control of your thoughts. Your thoughts happen to be what will help you in the process of creating your reality. Building an accurate model of reality simply means: taking control of your thoughts and focus. When you are able to take control of your focus, building reality in a manner that allows you to share love with others, live your purpose, and become as conscious of a person as possible, becomes an easier task.

At the lowest states of mental functioning, building an accurate model of reality may seem somewhat difficult. In lower states, thoughts are more randomized, thinking is unfocused, and therefore your reality becomes unfocused. What you physically manifest is random when you have randomized thinking. Until you hold the desire to work towards becoming more conscious or building an accurate model of reality that reflects your true purpose, you won’t move forward much in conscious advancement.

To build an accurate model of reality, experimentation plays a big role. Experimentation with belief systems, spiritual practices, customs, values, etc. will all change your reality. To build an accurate model of reality, it is important to keep an open-mind and learn to experience as many different states of consciousness as possible. When we are constantly tweaking our mind and consciousness, we will develop a greater understanding in the process of building an accurate model of reality. I talk about meditation a lot – (in case you haven’t noticed) – and feel that it helps the most with building an accurate model of reality. If you are working to develop your consciousness and build an accurate model of reality, meditation is the recommended aid of choice.

3. Be a leader; influence as many people as possible

Being a positive leader is an awesome way to raise your level of consciousness. Leaders often are able to influence large groups of people and develop a lot of conscious power. Each person that a leader influences builds power for that leader’s message. Now, power shouldn’t be thought of from an egotistical point of view – this is a view of lower states of consciousness. There are some people that look to build power through greed, hate, fear, etc. This is not the type of power that you want to strive to build.

The type of power that you should hope to develop should come from your ability to positively influence as many people as possible. Whether it be through your interaction, your blog, your speeches, your music, etc. – expressing positivity as a leader sets a great example for others. When you become a great leader, you have the ability to inspire others to make more positive change here in this world. Your goal as a leader should be to emotionally touch and inspire as many individuals as possible. This will help raise consciousness as an entirety here on Earth.

Becoming a leader has potential to make many people become more conscious. If you look at how many people an internet blogger like Steve Pavlina has inspired simply through his online website, it’s incredible… The guy gets millions of readers a month and is able to share his positive message to others and influence many people. His message has inspired me writing this Raising Your Consciousness: 10X10 Series and certain decisions that I’ve made in my life. You can tell that Steve is a leader who expresses his purpose in a manner that has made a big, potentially life-changing, impact in the lives of millions. And Steve is just one of many positive examples out there in the world.

4. Travel the world; learn new cultures

Traveling the world most definitely has potential to change and expand your state of awareness. As you travel to different places, you are able to learn about unique: ways of life, ways of thinking, religions, customs, values, etc. There are new weather patterns, there is new scenery, there are different faces, and new consciousness-expanding experiences happen. Traveling to many different parts of the world is one of the things that I hope to one day do in order to experience life on a bigger scale.

Traveling has so much potential to alter your consciousness, it’s literally insane. Here is just one of many crazy examples: You could flock the country and go to France, learn French, meet the love of your life, have kids in Paris, start a successful French business and have a huge influence over the country of France. You really never know what traveling can bring to the surface of your life or inspire you to do. There are so many new opportunities that arise when traveling that you may have been previously unaware of. Traveling also presents the opportunity to relate to many different, diverse social groups, ethnic groups, religious groups, etc. It also allows you to gain the opportunity of experiencing different ways of life and experience different living-conditions.

There so much potential for boosting your level of consciousness that I personally highly recommend traveling whenever you get the chance. Staying in the same environment for too long gets yourself into the habit of not wanting to change. Not wanting to change leads to stagnation… So if you happen to be a person who enjoys traveling and participating in new life-experiences, you will also become a more conscious person in the process!

5. Be empathetic; feel others emotions

Being empathetic is a great way to spread love and compassion in the world. Spreading love and compassion are great ways to help you become a more conscious person. Advanced empathetic abilities can be cultivated when accessing the lower brainwave states: both the theta and delta brainwaves. Delta brainwaves have been strongly linked to literally feeling the emotions of others. Sometimes feeling emotional baggage of others actually can become distressing, but it can usually be used to your conscious advantage: especially in relationships.
Making a conscious effort to become a more empathetic person means trying to understand and relate to others and their emotions in as an effective method as possible. Helping others work through difficult emotions and being around for the emotional support of others will help you quickly boost your awareness level. Developing a High-Performance Mind, will also help you learn to tap into empathetic states of mind when you need to access them, and shift out of them so you don’t pack on too much emotional baggage at all times. Too much empathy forces you to focus your attention away from your own emotions and more on feeling the emotions of others.

I think that being empathetic involves being compassionate to others and a natural wanting to help others improve their quality of life. Good friends are often empathetic towards each others needs. They often develop strong emotional bonds through spending time together and having experiences together. These emotional bonds and ability to read each others emotions aids in the process of learning to become more empathetic. Whether you are currently overly empathetic or your empathy is lacking, knowing when to be empathetic around others will work wonders for your state of consciousness.

6. Set goals; work to achieve them

Setting goals to advance in life is a great way to improve the quality of your life and consciousness. Setting positive goals and working to accomplish them is one of the single most effective ways to advance consciously, without even having the intention to advance consciously. For example: you may set the goal to exercise everyday for one month to improve your health. By setting and completing a goal like this, your main focus is improving your health, however, you are indirectly improving your consciousness too.

If you aren’t currently setting goals in life, make a list of everything that you hope to accomplish. For now, choose one item that’s most important to you off of your list. Then devise a plan to work towards its achievement. You may even want to form a mastermind group – as was mentioned as #10 in the Raising Your Consciousness: Part 8 article. Mastermind groups act as a group of positive individuals to motivate you to achieve your goal and help you with the process. I highly recommend that you build one if you haven’t.

Your first goal could be working to raise your consciousness to a certain level. After all, raising your consciousness to a higher level will make it much easier for you to accomplish your goals! Personally, raising my level of consciousness has become such a daily routine, that I am able to work towards a completely separate goal at the same time. When setting goals, use the S-M-A-R-T process: S – specific; M – measurable; A – attainable; R – realistic; T – timely. Setting S.M.A.R.T. goals significantly helps you to set highly-effective goals that you will be able to easily accomplish. Know that setting goals is a great way to implement healthy habits and become more conscious.

7. Try brainwave entrainment

Though brainwave entrainment seems like a new-agey, experimental technique, it is a great tool for advancing consciously that actually works. Not only does brainwave entrainment work well, it is an extremely effective way to develop a powerful brain and advanced state of consciousness. By practicing brainwave entrainment, your brain becomes more flexible in the process of shifting to various brainwave states.

Brainwave entrainment is different than neurofeedback due to the fact that: brainwave entrainment will not teach you to consciously access (or shift to) various brainwave states. What it will do, though, is make your brain more flexible throughout the day when faced with various tasks. Here’s a great example of a person who is an avid practicer of brainwave entrainment. Example: Let’s name the person for the example Troy. Let’s say that Troy has practiced all basic frequencies of brainwave entrainment over the period of one year. Troy’s brain has become much more flexible than average throughout the day. When talking to a stranger or working on his blog, his brain may tap into a state of high-beta brainwaves that he had previously entrained.

He does not consciously access the high-beta brainwave state, but his brain automatically jumps (or shifts) to the beta-brainwave connection that was established through entrainment. His brain automatically is able to tap specific brainwave states that are optimal for certain tasks. Let’s then say that shortly after a long day at work, Troy goes to lay down and relax. Because of his entrainment, Troy’s brain is able to automatically shift to the alpha brainwave much more quickly than average – he will relax with ease because his brain knows the alpha frequency. Moving on… Let’s say that Troy is ready to go to bed. Right before falling asleep, Troy’s brain will have the flexibility to tap into the alpha-theta range that he had previously entrained. This will allow him to fall asleep with ease. As Troy sleeps, his brain may even shift to the lowest theta-delta range that he had previously entrained. Each task throughout your day has optimal brainwave patterns for the given task. Beta brainwaves are great for conversation and focus, while alpha are great for winding down. Since Troy has practiced brainwave entrainment, his brain naturally sorts out all of the entrained brainwaves and chooses one that is optimal for each of his tasks.

An average person without brainwave entrainment may have difficulty in the process of shifting to other brainwave states. He or she may have difficulty tapping into high-beta brainwaves for conversation or reading. He or she may also have difficulty winding down to relax – or even falling asleep at night. He or she may have difficulty accessing the lower brainwave states required to fall asleep quickly or be highly-creative. This is why brainwave entrainment can have such a huge conscious impact on making life easier and the expansion of consciousness easier. You give the featured brainwave software featured in my recommended products section a test-run if you are interested. In my opinion, brainwave entrainment is very powerful method of personal transformation that is wise to use. It also has been proven to boosting brain power by allowing you to develop more neural connections. Give brainwave entrainment a test-run and evaluate how effective it is at helping you advance consciously.

8. Try self-hypnosis; as powerful as meditation

What many people do not realize is that the act of self-hypnosis is very helpful for achieving states of complete, controlled relaxation. During self-hypnosis you develop full, complete control of the beliefs that are implanted in your subconscious mind. Self-hypnosis relaxes your body and takes you into a state of highly-focused, deep relaxation. There are many great tapes and samples that you can get online. I’ve downloaded around 10 great full self-hypnosis sessions online.

Self-hypnosis is not an automatic belief-changer though. Like anything, it takes many sessions and conscious implantation of new beliefs for it to be effective at changing beliefs. It also depends on your current level of consciousness and understanding of self-hypnosis. If you decide that you want to give self-hypnosis a shot, do some research on it so that you will know what to expect and so that you are able to debunk any myths or unrealistic expectations.
What I’ve found to be cool is the fact that during self-hypnosis, brainwaves shift to patterns of high-synchronization that have been observed in deep meditation. I don’t think that either self-hypnosis or meditation is more effective than one another. What I do think though, is that some people will show a definite preference to meditate over self-hypnosis and others may prefer to practice self-hypnosis over meditation. No matter whether you enjoy self-hypnosis or meditation more, they are both exercises that will allow you to elevate your consciousness. Give self-hypnosis a shot if you haven’t already – it is a perfectly safe, exercise that will benefit your consciousness greatly.

9. Develop your chakras

What is a chakra?

Wikipedia’s definition: “chakras are thought to vitalise the physical body and to be associated with interactions of a physical, emotional and mental nature. They are considered loci of life energy, or prana, (also called shakti, or chi), which is thought to flow among them along pathways called nadis. The function of the chakras is to spin and draw in this Universal Life Force Energy to keep the spiritual, mental, emotional and physical health of the body in balance.”

My definition of chakras: key energy centers located in our body.

I am by no means a guru on the topic of chakras and am still in the learning process. So, if you are further interested in developing and cleansing your chakras I recommend reading literature on the topic or doing research on the internet to see what you find. I found this website discussing them to be very interesting. It seems to be a fairly reliable source to learn more about the topic, so here’s a link to ChakraEnergy.com. At this website, you can learn about the basic functions of each of your chakras and can even take a test to see how active your chakras are.

Learning to clear and cleanse your chakras could prove to be one of the single best investments that you’ve ever made for yourself. Chakras hold the key allowing you to tap into your higher-self and connect with energy from the Universe. Like Wikipedia, I also believe that working with your chakras can allow you to keep an optimal: spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical balance. Working directly with your chakras will help you become a more conscious person, making you more aware of your body’s energy centers and how they can affect your entire life.

A sidenote: chakra is pronounced “shock-ruh.”

10. Build Kundalini energy

What is Kundalini?

Wikipedia’s definition: “‘coiled’ energy. In Indian yoga, a “corporeal energy”- an unconscious, instinctive or libidinal force or Shakti, envisioned either as a goddess or else as a sleeping serpent coiled at the base of the spine, hence a number of English renderings of the term such as ‘serpent power’. Kundalini is considered a part of the subtle body along with chakras (energy centres) and nadis (channels). The overall conception has many points in common with Chinese theories of acupuncture.”

My definition of Kundalini: a (usually latent) energy force that is coiled at the base of our spine. We’ve all felt Kundalini from time to time during extremely emotional moments, when a certain song plays, or when we have a powerful experience. What does Kundalini feel like? Kundalini the energy that makes our spine tingle. We get goosebumps throughout our body and our entire spine tingles with emotional energy. Kundalini is a large amount of energy that can poke it’s head at random times. It can also be fully released and harnessed. The jolts that most of us feel are only minute amounts of Kundalini.

There are exercises and training that a person can go through which allow them to tap and harness their full Kundalini energy. The release of full Kundalini energy, also known as a Kundalini awakening, is a powerful experience that makes a person highly conscious of themselves, their surroundings, the universe, and fills a person with tons of energy. Kundalini is not the same thing as developing an awakened mind brainwave pattern, however, it can be a side-effect in selective cases. Sometimes through intense meditation, Kundalini energy gets accidentally released too.

Kundalini is a completely healthy, natural and powerful method to advance consciously. It is not recommended to go into a Kundalini experience blindly, though. Do some research on Kundalini and consider working with a guru or person who has been through the entire process if you hope to release yours. This way, you will know what to expect and you won’t break into an accidental Kundalini awakening where you don’t know how to harness or deal with the energy. Breaking into a Kundalini awakening on accident could really throw you’re consciousness for an emotional loop filled with confusion and stress. Successfully harnessing your Kundalini energy through an awakening process, will naturally make you a highly conscious human being!

One last reminder: awakening your Kundalini energy should be done properly, under supervision or communication with a highly conscious individual who has already been through the process OR who has been trained in the process!

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1. Clear emotional blocks

Nearly everyone has some form of subconscious emotional blocks that they’ve suppressed for most of their lives. Emotional blocks can develop in childhood and can be forgotten by the time a person reaches adulthood. Emotional blocks can really take full control over your life if you don’t properly deal with them. Usually, diseases like anxiety, depression, and trauma are all the result of strong built-up emotional blocks. Emotional blocks can be defined as “emotions that haven’t been fully released by your subconscious mind.” This is why, often times when meditating, we recall past experiences and are able to deal with past negative experiences in a healthy manner.

In reaction to negative experiences, our brain wants to naturally block out the pain instead of dealing with it directly. Often times the resulting emotion is anxiety or depression. If you keep letting your pent-up negative emotional energy build, before expressing it, it can potentially become very dangerous to yourself and others. It is important to clear these emotional blocks. Luckily there happen to be many great ways to do so! Before you think about clearing emotional blocks, you must mentally prepare yourself and agree that you are ready to do so. It can be a very powerful (intense) emotional experience that may catch us off guard.

Often times we are operating in a mental state that isn’t currently aware of any personal emotional blocks. To shift our awareness to a deeper level, we must access the deeper brainwave states – increasing the production of alpha and theta brainwaves. In the alpha and theta brainwave states, past memories and emotions become easy to recall and are able to be released. If you think that you’ve let emotional blockages build up for awhile now, they may be fairly severe. Emotional blockages often manifest as extreme forms of stress, anxiety, unfocused thinking, and depression.

Ways that emotional blocks can be successfully dealt with are: through meditation, by working with a trained therapist, through E.M.D.R., neurofeedback, brainwave entrainment, and sometimes just through deep relaxation in supplement to talk therapy. It is important to allow your trapped, negative memories to resurface and your emotional blocks to clear. When emotional blocks are cleared, you will have a much easier time expressing who you truly are and how you feel. Your consciousness will feel elevated, and you will have free-flowing emotions through your entire body.

It is not advised to try to deal with very powerful emotional blocks or repressed traumatic memories by yourself. Consult a trained, certified therapist or psychologist to help you work through your past powerful emotion. Recognize that when you are able to work through your past emotional blocks, you will allow yourself to reach a higher state of consciousness and functioning. Looking to clear your emotional blocks will ultimately benefit all areas of your life, allow you to tap into deeper levels of awareness, and will aid in the process of intention-manifestation.

2. Clear out subconscious “cobwebs”

What exactly are subconscious “cobwebs?” I refer to subconscious cobwebs as any unfulfilling: beliefs and emotions that have been carried around in your subconscious mind for too long. Many times, our subconscious mind is carrying around extra negative emotional baggage and limiting beliefs that need to be released or replaced. In my opinion, the best and easiest way to clear subconscious “cobwebs” is through meditation.

In order for you to clear out your subconscious “cobwebs” and replace them with a clean, focused, and organized subconscious mind, I recommend that you try a few relaxation exercises such as: meditation, self-hypnosis, and internal reflection. Meditation is an obvious exercise of choice: it gives you freedom to develop inner focus inside your subconscious mind. As you begin a meditation routine, you may begin to notice that you begin to remember past events that were unfulfilling or past emotions that were painful. During this process, it is important to accept your negative experiences and think of yourself as being fully healed from each experience when your meditation time is up.

Here is a personal example: I go into deep meditation. Next, I tap into my slower alpha and theta brainwaves and thus into my subconscious mind. While I have access to my subconscious, I may ask it to send me a past memory, belief, or “cobweb” that I’ve been reluctant to deal with. Then, it may send me a picture or live footage of a real event that happened in my life that really hurt me emotionally. I then, sort-of, re-live the event in my mind, and fully accept its validity. As I come out of my meditation, I consciously implant the belief that re-living this event has fully healed and revitalized my subconscious mind.

Eventually, you will reach a state beyond present and past and be mentally 100% focused in “the now” or present moment. But from all of the literature that I’ve found, this can only be achieved through practicing meditation for an extended period of time. So if you want to clear out your subconscious “cobwebs” and take full control of your subconscious mind and the rest of your life, consider trying meditation to connect with your deeper self. It will raise your level of consciousness by allowing you to bring unsatisfying beliefs and memories to the surface.

3. Turn off the T.V. already

Depending on your current level of consciousness, watching T.V. may actually be a good thing. For those individuals operating at an extremely low level of functioning, watching T.V. gives them hope, satisfaction, and a boost in consciousness. With that said, to permanently elevate your consciousness, it is recommended to refrain from watching T.V. If you think about the act of watching T.V., it doesn’t reflect your life’s purpose nor allow you to be fully productive. The time that you currently spend watching T.V. could be put to better use by allowing you to accomplish a personal goal, allowing you to exercise your body, allowing you to boost your brain power, etc.

There are many reasons that you should not watch T.V. One of them is: you will be able to raise your consciousness much more quickly if you refrain from watching T.V. All of the negative views and conditioning that a person derives from watching T.V. can be a negative influence on your life. When you are operating at a higher-level of functioning and are watching people talk on T.V. at a lower level of functioning, it certainly will not help you raise your consciousness by watching T.V. If you feel that it’s necessary to cancel cable or shut of your T.V. for a week to give it a test run, by all means: try it! Turning off the tube will not only make you become a more conscious person, it will allow you to be much more productive. All T.V. serves as is an escape from higher levels of consciousness.

4. Read a good book; knowledge is power

Whether you enjoy reading fiction or non-fiction books (or both), reading books is a phenomenal way to help you boost your conscious brain power. Reading books provides you with knowledge, creativity, and allows you to fully expand your intellect. Don’t limit yourself to reading books either: blogs are fine (especially 4 Mind 4 Life), magazines are fine, newspapers are usually fine, etc. Reading a good book allows your consciousness to be taken on a journey through a world of information, or through a world of complete fantasy.

To get yourself on the right track of becoming a more conscious person, there are many great books that you can read that will help guide your consciousness in the right direction. One such book, that I’ve previously recommended is: The High-Performance Mind by Anna Wise. This book teaches you how to consciously control your mental brainwave state, go into deep meditation, and how to advance consciously by targeting selective brainwave patterns. Go to Amazon.com and search the books section for: consciousness (I gave you the perfect link)… Most of these books are aiming to increase your knowledge and provide you with methods to help you become a more conscious person.

Reading books will also help you become a smarter person, with a mind that is full of new thoughts and ideas. The more credible information that you are able to read, the more information and knowledge your consciousness has to play with. After all, knowledge allows you to cultivate power and become more aware of what was previously unknown. I know you’ve probably heard this before, but: turn off your T.V. and start reading instead! Reading is a great alternative to T.V. watching.

5. Expand your creativity

There are many ways for us to expand our creativity and abilities to creatively think. Developing ways to creatively think not only boosts brain power, it boosts your consciousness. The use of brainstorming, creative visualization, Zen koans, and meditation have all been known to increase creative thinking skills. Creativity is an important trait to develop when dealing with your reality. Having creativity allows your mind to easily solve even the most difficult of problems. Creativity is a great tool that can make your life much easier.

When you become more conscious, your creative abilities become stronger. Work to think of creative solutions to problems in your life. Some great ways to increase creativity are: brainstorming – making lists / webs, listening to music, draw a picture, or practice visualization. No matter how creative you are at this moment, you can always strive to enhance it for conscious benefit. The ability to be creative and think-outside-the-box usually occurs in the lower frequency brainwave states of alpha and theta. Accessing these states through creativity allows you to bypass the conscious-thought process of your left-hemisphere’s beta brainwaves and think of a creative solution to any given problem.

Becoming more creative is a side-effect that comes with being more conscious. As your overall brain power and cognitive functioning increases, you will develop much stronger levels of creativity. Being creative and practicing conscious creative thinking is a great exercise that allows you to raise your level of awareness. If your creative-side is currently lacking, think of ways to step-it-up a notch!

6. Develop strong people-skills

Developing strong people-skills will allow you to become more conscious in many different ways. Having strong people skills allows you to be comfortable expressing who you really are in any given social situation. Without developing strong people skills, you may be stuck in a state of fear around others in social settings. You may be completely uncomfortable with expressing your true beliefs, values, and discussing your lifestyle in front of others. Developing strong people-skills takes courage and being a highly-conscious person.

Communication to express your feelings, thoughts, and beliefs is necessary for others to know who you truly are. Being socially connected with others allows you to express your emotions in a healthy manner and also helps you be more empathetic and tuned in to loving others. There are currently many ways for a person to develop his or her people skills. In my opinion, the best way for you to develop your people skills to the maximum level is to force yourself to be around others constantly.

Though you may not thoroughly enjoy being around everyone at all times, you can learn to consciously accept others for who they are and how they act. Developing people skills allows you to successfully convey your point of view and share your purpose with others. You can spread love through social interaction and learn to communicate to help you get what you want out in life. Cultivating a strong set of people-skills will allow you to become a more conscious individual and will allow you to share your love with others.

7. Allow yourself to be inspired; who are you inspired by?

Allowing yourself to be inspired helps you to take passionate action. In order for us to be inspired, we usually need to have some sort of emotional connection. Maybe you are deeply inspired by a song that you recently heard on the radio, maybe you are inspired by Barack Obama, maybe you are inspired by Hilary Clinton, maybe you find Pablo Picasso’s artwork inspiring. Everyone is different and everyone is inspired by different things here on Earth.

The key to successfully using inspiration to help you advance consciously is to find out what single thing inspires you more than anything. Chances are that what inspires you most, is in some way connected with your purpose here on Earth. And, as mentioned earlier in the Raising Your Consciousness: 10X10 Series, knowing and living your purpose is a great way to advance consciously. To find out who or what you are most inspired by, make a list. Begin by brainstorming and writing down every single thing that you find inspiring. After 10 minutes or so of brainstorming, reflect on your list and the items that you think really stand-out from the rest.

After you’ve found the activities or people that are most inspiring in your life, take some sort of action to implement their inspiration in your life. The implementation process may involve listening to that artist’s music, buying a Picasso painting to put up in your room, writing a song of your own, etc. When you take action based off of true inspiration, you allow yourself to consciously connect with your higher-self and get on the right path towards discovering your true purpose. Inspiration can really work magic in your life if you let it. Taking actions based on positive inspiration will guide your consciousness to a higher level with very little effort.

8. Be courteous towards others

Being courteous to others is a great way to share love, positivity, and a great way to set a good example for others. Each time that you set an example, you have some influence onto others. Being kind and respectful to others is an awesome way to spread positivity and motivate others to become more conscious individuals. Each time that you practice a healthy habit or put kind actions on display for others to see, they will be much more inclined to follow suit. Each person has the power to influence others and our consciousness as a whole.

When one person acts negatively for others to see, witnesses of this action may then think it’s appropriate to act negatively in their lives. When one person acts positively for others to see, witnesses of this action may start to become more positive and set a better example for others. Being courteous means being polite, sharing your knowledge, helping others in need, and respecting others’ belief systems. Practice being courteous to everyone that you meet. Being courteous involves being compassionate. When you are able to be courteous to everyone that you meet, you are raising your awareness through compassion.

9. Attend a spiritual retreat / gathering

There are many spiritual retreats and spiritual opportunities that can quickly boost your state of consciousness. Meditation retreats and gatherings with your religious group are two of many ways to raise your consciousness. The act of going to church is yet another form of attending a spiritual gathering. While you’re at church, you may feel extremely welcome, connected with others, and be surrounded by many friendly, positive people. You may also learn something about yourself and your life.

The people that come to spiritual events and gatherings often are working to raise their level of consciousness in life (you will have something positive in common). Going to an event like a Holosync retreat may also be a great way to connect with a fun, positive group of individuals that could prove to be lifelong friends. You will never truly know and understand the possibilities of conscious transformation until you actually attend a gathering or retreat. In my opinion, attending a great meditation retreat may be one of the single most effective and quickest ways to advance consciously and transform your life. You’ll learn a lot about yourself, others, and meet a lot of great people.

10. Form a mastermind group

Forming a mastermind group is a great way to help you become more conscious and complete your goals. To participate in a mastermind group, you must first gather up some trustworthy friends. If you gather up non-trustworthy friends or people with negative influence, it won’t work well. Be sure to ask positive individuals to join your group. Next, schedule times that your entire group will meet to discuss personal challenges, goals, accomplishments, etc. Your group’s schedule can be to meet every 2 weeks, 3 weeks, month, every week, etc. You need to make the best decision. As you meet with your group of friends, make it known that you all will be as encouraging, helpful, empathetic, and positive towards each other and their goals. You serve as motivation for your friends in your mastermind group, and they serve as positive motivation for you.

Next, discuss one goal that you hope to work towards or accomplish before the next meeting. Develop a plan with your group and allow every person to share as much positive energy with each other as possible. Realize that when you work with other people, it is much easier to make your dreams come true. You aren’t a loner on your quest and feel strong because you happen to have full support from a positive group of individuals. As you meet, you help each other develop plans to accomplish their goals and serve as motivation for each other to carry through.

If you have similar goals, you can network with another person too. For example: Let’s say that both my friend Seth and Josh wanted to start a blog. They could each work with each other to help with ideas, put each other on their blogrolls, and do research together. Or they could even work separately and give each other phone-calls if they are stuck on a part of blog development or would like an opinion about the looks of their blog. Basically, if you and another person in your mastermind group have the same type of idea, your life just got a whole lot easier because you can work together with that person!

Mastermind groups are wonderful ways to advance consciously. They are a form of conscious, positive support that allows you to accomplish your goals with ease. Social support (i.e. a positive group of friends) is always great to have when working to become more conscious. Heck, your first project at your mastermind group could be to raise your consciousness to a level that allows you to consciously create happiness. Do whatever you want with your group, have fun, be positive, and realize that you are raising your consciousness in the process!

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1. Expand your horizons: try something new

Trying something new can pertain to any area of your life. Maybe you want to try to add a new healthy habit to your daily routine, shop at an organic store, or even host a block party for the first time. The act of trying something new sounds very easy, but for most people, trying new activities brings out some fear and anxiety. Having courage raises your consciousness and by constantly trying new things, you boost your cognitive ability to adapt and push through any lower states of fear.

Participating in new activities can also be wonderful for boosting your understanding about different traditions, cultures, and values. It can also entail learning new ways to share your purpose. An example of trying something new would be the act of starting a blog to share your message with others through the internet. Beginning blogging meant trying something new for me. I didn’t even learn or understand blogging until around October 2007. I decided to take a risk and start 4 Mind 4 Life. I thought that it would be a fun and beneficial way for me to share my message with others and allow it to make a positive influence in the lives of others. Using blogging as a medium is just one way to share your message with others. Having a neighborhood block party and connecting with many individuals on a more personal level may also be another great way for you to share your purpose.

Trying something new will ultimately benefit your consciousness by replacing fear with a deeper sense of understanding and enhanced levels of courage. Experimenting with new activities can pertain to any area of your life too, which leaves you a lot of conscious choice. You may want to try yoga instead of meditation, a raw food diet instead of vegetarian, or even try something as simple as eating at a new restaurant. All new activities will work to expand your horizons and overall level of awareness. When choosing new activities to try, be conscious about it and preferably choose an activity that is healthy.

2. Face your deepest fears

Are there any fears that you’re holding inside that are prevent you from making conscious advancement? At certain stages along the ladder of consciousness, it can be extremely difficult to face your fears. With that said, facing your fears will provide you with more conscious power. A great exercise for determining what you fear is to simply make a list of every single fear that you currently have. After you’ve made the list, make a conscious commitment to conquer every single item on the list that you fear.

Once when I was engrossed in a deep state of anxiety, I used this exercise as a form of therapy. Though it was difficult to force myself along through my list, I made a commitment with myself to finish this form of exposure therapy. The personal power that resulted was incredible! As you conquer each fear, cross off each item and be consciously aware of the power that you’re feeling from inside. What’s interesting about the process is the concept that though your inner fear may not completely disappear, you will consciously learn how to be courageous when faced with the fearful situation. And, you will be able to face any future fears much easier rather than freeze up and become paralyzed.

Facing your inner fears is not only extremely satisfying, it will give you the much needed momentum to advance consciously. Again, I emphasize the importance to be conscious when listing your fears. Don’t write down something like: “I fear going 100 MPH in a 35 MPH zone while driving,” therefore I need to try it to get it out of my system. It’s obvious that you would be wise not to face something that is against the law. Same goes for “fear of trying illicit substances,” which is obviously not something wise to try. Use common sense and conscious judgment about your list. Healthy fears include: giving a speech, singing in front of others, or throwing a party; this would be a great list of fears to go out and conquer! The choice to face these will help you considerably in your ability to make conscious advances.

3. Use powerful incantations

Incantations are simply words or phrases repeated over and over with emotional intensity for personal or spiritual benefit. They have commonly been used in religious practices to praise certain Gods or deities, but they have also be used for personal development and in the process of becoming more conscious. No matter what way you choose to use incantations, they can be very helpful and a powerful catalyst for helping you become more conscious.

I first heard about using incantations in a Tony Robbins audio program, and have given them a valid shot. In my personal experience, they have been very helpful with the process of changing my core beliefs. After taking personal time to repeat a new belief with emotional intensity and power, it seems as though the use of incantations is a very helpful way to consciously develop. I haven’t yet tried them in a religious manner or in prayer, but I am confident that they are powerful and effective if used correctly.

An example of an incantation that you could use would be: “Every day in every way, I am becoming a more conscious human being.” Say your incantation intensely to yourself in your car, outside on a walk, or at the beginning of a workout. Be sure to connect emotionally with what you’re saying. The use of certain energetic breathing patterns can help with the process. The phrases that you choose for your incantations should have a strong emotional impact and rhythm associated with the practice. In my personal experience, it has been better to stick with one incantation for awhile instead of trying to use several different ones at once. I recommend using one phrase for change until you feel that has been deeply implanted in your conscious and subconscious. Then you can safely attempt another, new incantation. Incantations are great for changing beliefs and boosting your mental functioning.

4. Practice positive affirmations

Affirmations are a bit different than using incantations, though the concepts are very similar. Affirmations are used to change beliefs and thinking patterns. When using affirmations, I like to get myself into a state of relaxation through guided meditation or self-hypnosis and play recorded phrases of myself speaking that I’d like to implant in my subconscious. I have found the most effective way to record my own sessions has been through using Neuro-Programmer 2 Professional software. With NP2 Professional, I am able to record my own affirmations with my computer microphone, then choose to add an introductory relaxation voice, and possibly custom brainwave patterns. When I get deeply relaxed, my recorded beliefs will play, and the affirmation process will take place.

With that said, you can use affirmations in a completely awake state without NP2 Professional and still benefit to a high degree. The idea of using affirmations while awake is to program your mind to believe a certain positive phrase about yourself. The repeating action is supposed to eventually fill your subconscious mind with the new, repeated positive belief and drown the power of the negative thoughts. The use of affirmations for conscious advancement is an interesting concept that has been proven effective. However, like any form of exercise, its effectiveness will be directly related to the effort that you put into it.

Examples of positive affirmations include: “I am healthy,” “I am positive,” and “I am intelligent.” Notice that these examples do not include a focus on what they are trying to get rid of or replace. Putting primary focus on what is distressing only amplifies the difficulty to change. Therefore you shouldn’t write: “I am not negative.” Your subconscious mind will not recognize the “not” in the sentence, but will recognize the word “negative.” Therefore, using “I am not negative” has potential to make you even more negative! Affirmations should also be written in present tense format. Writing them in future tense like: “I will become positive” keeps reinforcing in your subconscious the fact that you haven’t yet reached and possibly haven’t experienced a state of positivity. The basic, yet key idea behind affirmations is to choose positive phrases written in present tense as if they have already been achieved. The goal of using affirmations should be to replace unhealthy beliefs and thought patterns with healthier ones; making it easier to scale the mountain of consciousness.

5. Be aware of your state of consciousness

Unfortunately, many people aren’t aware of their current state of consciousness or what even defines consciousness. You may not even be consciously aware of the many diverse possible states of consciousness due to the fact that you may have only experienced one primary state throughout your lifetime. There is absolutely nothing wrong with not experiencing many different states. However, if you are a person who hasn’t experienced other states or most importantly cannot seem to understand your own state, you are definitely missing out some important aspects and understandings of conscious perception. Certain factors: like brainwave patterns, dietary habits, and ability to deal with life in general all play a role in determining your state of consciousness and awareness of it. On this blog, I have written articles covering basic brainwave patterns that you may want to check out.

Highly conscious individuals are able to shift through all brainwave patterns upon command. This ability to shift, is a form of advanced self-mastery and can be found in many gurus, religious leaders, healers, top athletes, and top business executives. The specific pattern of this special brainwave activity has been displayed on E.E.G. readings and is commonly referred to as an awakened mind. I recommend reading the book The High-Performance Mind by Anna Wise if you are further interested in the “awakened mind” concept. It is a very helpful book for learning the basics.

To help you know and understand your current brainwave state, you can read through my articles discussing various brainwave patterns and try to self-analyze. Most people are very, very rarely in primarily “gamma brainwave” or “delta brainwave” states, so exclude those patterns from your analysis. To help you out, I’ll tell you that the majority of people, especially adults, are operating in a beta brainwave or high-beta brainwave state. Most relaxed, mellow, chilled-out individuals or individuals who commonly practice meditation or other stress-relieving techniques are likely to be in a primarily alpha brainwave state or a mixed combination of primarily alpha and theta brainwaves. Individuals with P.T.S.D., trauma, A.D.D. and A.D.H.D. are in primarily disorganized theta brainwave states. These individuals also show virtually little to zero beta brainwave activity in their E.E.G. Also, individuals with severe, advanced forms of stress end up in a high-beta, high-theta combination brainwave state, which is also a fairly rare state.

There are certain, unique benefits that are associated with each brainwave pattern. Therefore, becoming more conscious can certainly include developing your ability to shift to whatever brainwave state you feel is most beneficial for your current life situation. Taking control of your brainwaves and being able to shift mental states upon conscious command is a powerful concept that will ultimately make you a more conscious person.

6. Set a positive example for others

Setting a positive example for others can pertain to any area of life and is highly encouraged. Setting a healthy, positive example for others to follow spreads a direct positive image into the lives and minds of others. The way that you choose to express your positivity to set an example for others is completely up to you. Simply going for a run outdoors displays and encourages exercise. Anyone that sees you exercising is being positively advertised and exposed to a healthy habit which has potential to rub off into their consciousness. Other ways to set a positive example include: giving someone a compliment or simply sending a smile to spread your happiness.

Setting a positive example for others to take note of is a win-win situation for both parties. You are expanding your consciousness and encouraging a more conscious state in others though your actions. As you become a more conscious human being, the ways that you will be able to express your purpose and make a positive impact in the lives of others will naturally increase. In lower states of awareness, the example that you may be setting may be poorer due to lack of conscious judgment. In higher states of awareness, determining what is “a positive example” becomes much easier. Trying to consciously set a good example will further enhance your consciousness. Setting a bad example, or unconscious example, will slow, halt, or reverse your conscious development.

7. Guide others interested in raising their consciousness

There are many ways to aid others in the process of raising their awareness, especially if you are a more consciously advanced individual. Chances are good that you’ll need to do some personal work with raising your own consciousness before you can put yourself in an effective position to help others raise their consciousness. What you may want to do, though, is encourage others to practice some items in the raising your consciousness series on 4 Mind 4 Life.

Most items mentioned in these lists will have a profound impact on boosting their level of consciousness. Point your friends, relatives, and other people in the right direction by guiding them towards healthy activities like meditation. Helping others can be an extremely rewarding experience for both you, and all of the people that you are able to help. In my opinion, the easiest people to help with consciousness work are your good friends. Chances are that your current good friends and yourself have a lot in common, so showing them and introducing to them ways to become more conscious may be a fun task to undertake together as friends!

Also, realize that by helping others, you are making a positive impact in the lives of others and setting a healthy example of how to be a more conscious individual. When you share the power of your consciousness, you provide others with the chance to advance to your current conscious position by acting as their guide. After others advance to a state that allows them to reach out to people in their lives and offer guidance, your initial message of helping one friend has amplified. Think of it like this: I reach out to ten of my friends and help them advance to a highly conscious state that provides them with knowledge to teach others how to become more conscious. Let’s further assume that my initial ten friends each reach out to ten of their friends and help them with consciousness work.

Already totaled, 100 individuals plus the initial 10 friends that I taught are in position to help others consciously advance. From there, let’s say that the each of the 100 individuals that were taught, individually reach out and teach 10 of their friends. We now have one-thousand people operating in an advanced state of consciousness that are in position to help others in lower states of awareness! If each of those 1,000 people reach out to 10 of their friends, we now have 10,000 people. From 10,000 to 100,000. From 100,000 to 1,000,000. From 1,000,000 to 10,000,000 and from 10,000,000 to 100,000,000, etc., etc., etc. and from that larger number to the rest of the world. As more people shift towards a higher state of awareness, other people naturally follow as a direct result of the massive change. It could quickly become a global movement if done correctly. It would be very interesting and cool to see a massive change like the one I described. Making yourself and others more conscious is beneficial for yourself, others, and our population as a whole. Do your best to help others that are interested in the process.

8. Share your unique insight and wisdom

Everyone has a different perspective based on their personal experience, purpose, and personality. Therefore, each individual has a unique form of insight that they can share with others. To put it bluntly: everyone is different, therefore everyone will have a different piece of wisdom and different forms of advice to bring to the table of life. What you learn in certain situations and the life lessons that you are learning or have learned are unique to you and your unique personal experience here on Earth. Though you have unique forms of insight and wisdom, there are times when sharing your learned insight with others will greatly help them in a difficult life situation.

There are many ways that you can share your insight with others. Using #7: (helping others raise their conscious awareness) is just one way in which you can choose to share your personal insight. Guiding the consciousness of others is certainly a great way to share your wisdom. However, there are many other activities such as: giving a public speech, starting your own blog, writing a book, writing open letters in your local newspaper, or expressing your message through artwork are all great ways to share your insight. There are endless ways and opportunities for you to express and share your knowledge with others. All that you need to do is take action towards finding a medium most effective for allowing you to share your insight. If you provide enough value to others by the act of sharing your insight, you may be able to turn your message into a profitable career that affects your purpose.

9. Gain wisdom from others

No single person holds all the wisdom of the universe in their brain. For this reason, it is important to study the wisdom of others and try to apply their wisdom to your life. As mentioned earlier, everyone has a unique perspective and knowledge-base to bring to the table. Studying the wisdom of others can be done in many ways. Examples include: meeting face-to-face with a more consciously advanced individual and ask them for life advice, reading positivity and personal development websites from several different sources, or maybe attending different personal development seminars.

It doesn’t matter which medium or mediums that you choose to use to learn through. My personal preference for learning about the wisdom of others is through reading books, blogs, and articles. However, just listening to a Tony Robbins program via my iPod also feels extremely rewarding. No matter if you choose to attend speeches, read articles, or the combination of both, it doesn’t matter. The only thing that matters is that you make an attempt to gain knowledge from others and move forward to develop the most highly-conscious state of functioning that you feel is possible for you to achieve.

10. Keep your ego in check

The more aware you are of your ego, the easier it is to become more conscious. With that said, as your awareness increases, so does your state of consciousness. The reverse also applies: as your consciousness increases, so does your awareness. One key aspect for ourselves to be especially aware of is our ego. It is important to keep the negativity of our ego in check and have the awareness that prevents it from getting out of control. Letting our ego get out of control and take the driver’s seat in our consciousness has potential to quickly lower our state of functioning. Allow yourself to become completely aware of your ego and the unconscious actions that you may be provoked to take.

An example of letting your ego get out of control could be the act of lashing out in a dispute. If someone makes a degrading remark, it is important to be assertive, but lashing out and displaying aggression allows your ego and unconscious to take control. Allowing your ego to take control causes yourself to shift from a conscious polarity towards an unconscious one. Taking full control and responsibility to keep your ego in check when faced with adversity will allow you to consciously advance in a much easier manner.

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1. Close your eyes – The act of simply closing your eyes causes a change in brainwave production from fast-paced beta brainwaves to slower, peaceful alpha waves. Give yourself at least 10 – 15 minutes of quiet time with your eyes closed and you’ll naturally feel more relaxed.

2. Relax your tongue – Sounds fairly silly and ridiculous to most people, yet it is an extremely potent way to effectively calm your mind. Calming alpha brainwaves increase when your tongue relaxes, and beta brainwaves (stressful brainwaves) decrease. Let your entire jaw relax along with your tongue and go into a calmer state of awareness.

3. Go jogging, walking, hiking – Exercise is a great way to desensitize your nervous system and do away with stressful feelings. Get your butt moving and go for a nice jog at the gym, walk through the neighborhood, or hike through the mountains!

4. Lay out in the sun – Laying out and soaking up sun rays naturally boosts levels of the neurotransmitter serotonin, and allows us to effectively go into a deep state of relaxation. Feel free to go to the beach and feel the vibrant radiance of the sun while laying in the soothing sand. While your at it, feel free to get a nice tan!

5. Guided meditations – Guided meditations usually involve an individual consciously relaxing their entire body. Set aside 10 – 15 minutes to scale your body for areas of tension and replace all tension with a feeling of relaxation. You will feel great and be able to quickly unwind and unstress after a short guided meditation.

6. Deep breathing – We all realize that when we allow ourselves to be overcome with stress, our breathing cycle is shorter and quicker than normal. To directly attack stress, take deep breaths by inhaling through your nose and exhaling through your mouth. This quickly changes us from a state of intense stress to one of peacefulness.

7. Get a massage – If you just don’t feel like doing any of the other suggestions, getting a quality massage will be extremely effective at reducing your stress. The physical relaxation that results from getting a massage, will slow down your stressful mental processing and leave your body and mind with a new sense of vitality.

8. Take a vacation – Sometimes when we allow ourselves to get caught up in a work-related stress cycle, the best thing to do is take a nice vacation. For some, a vacation could mean taking the day off work, while for others, it could mean taking a two week all-inclusive stay in the Bahamas. Sometimes taking a vacation is clearly your best option for letting go of stress!

9. Deal with the root cause – Ask yourself what event, person, or thing is the root cause of your stress. After you understand what is causing your stress, target and eliminate the root cause in as respectful and peaceful of manner as possible.

10. Accept your stress – The action of accepting your body and mind’s reaction to stress alone will help you recover from stress quicker. When you don’t accept your adrenaline, rapid thoughts, etc., you put yourself in a position to become more stressed out over what is happening to yourself. Accepting yourself will break the cycle and allow you to feel more peaceful.

11. Lift weights, pump some iron – There has been mounting evidence that lifting weights is great for relieving stress. Though lifting weights obviously isn’t as vigorous as intense aerobic exercise, it does help us release and lower stress levels by releasing tension within our muscle groups.

12. Talk with friends, release some heat – Expressing your emotions by having a quality conversation about your stress with a trusted friend will always help relieve stress. Your friends may provide helpful suggestions, encourage your relaxation, help take stress off of your focus, and allow you to get the bottled-up fury out of your system.

13. Get involved with nature – Experience nature and appreciate it’s beauty. I have mentioned this in my first article in the 10×10 series to becoming more conscious because it can be a very blissful experience. Appreciating what nature has to offer, by seeing the animals, plants, the encompassing sky, and pure beauty, you will naturally lose focus of stress.

14. Sexual orgasm – What some may not understand is that the act of sexual orgasm really is a profound way to relax. Usually, after sex, you feel tired. Sex provides a great workout, bonding with a partner, and is really one of the best ways to let go of stress. Though stress may really take your mind off of sex, it may just be a key ingredient in the process of your recovery.

15. Take a nap – We already know that taking a nap has been proven to boost brain power, but what you may not think about are the stress relieving benefits that napping can provide. Sometimes the only way for your brain to fully recover is to snooze on it and allow your subconscious to sort itself out.

16. Brainwave entrainment – As you probably already know, I am an advocate for brainwave entrainment. Why? Because it helped me through a time in which I desperately needed relaxation and desensitization. After just one alpha or theta brainwave session, most people feel completely calm, revitalized, and rejuvenated. If you’d like to give some brainwave entrainment a shot, I recommend any of the featured products in my “recommended products” section.

17. Listen to soothing music – Ever tried to listen to some nature music, beach music, or meditation type music? Listening to soothing music is an awesome experience and definitely feels great to listen to when feeling stressed. It has potential to shift your thoughts from a cycle of stress to one of calmness.

18. Say a peaceful prayer – Say a prayer that resonates with your purpose, beliefs, and soul’s values. Keeping your prayers peaceful and add visualizations if necessary. Make as lucid and peaceful of visualizations as possible during your prayer and try to connect deeply. When you can successfully pull of a deep, soulful prayer, it will encompass your body and mind with beautiful quietude.

19. Be around calm people; positive people – A great technique is to surround yourself with calm people. Their beliefs, actions, and behaviorism will naturally rub off into your consciousness. Spending time with stressful, negative, or hyperactive individuals will probably drain your energy and will not aid you in the process of de-stressing. If you must hang out with some monks for awhile to become more calm, then do it!

20. Hit a punching bag – If you feel that you need to release some pent up stress from your muscles, got hit a punching bag until you can no longer move your body. It may help to think of the punching bag as your inner stress and with each hit, you are becoming more peaceful. For some individuals, a good ole fashioned punching bag is all they need and want to calm down.

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