Brainwave Frequencies

When we get into a conversation about things such as frequency, tone, or pitch, you might immediately go to music. Some musicians may think about notes while some artists may think about how a particular sound would be heard in a room with large acoustics. Not often do we go into the idea that frequency is often about how things are felt through our bodies, or the vibrations that accompany such deep resonant thoughts in the form of actual healing of human tissue. Did you know that your cells are always constantly vibrating and moving? Or, that your body has a frequency that it “sits in” throughout the day? How about the possibility that just with the way you think or experience the world that your brain is on a particular frequency?

Let’s start with a very basic first lesson: your brain has its own “sound-like” waves! Brainwaves are like musical notes. Low frequencies are like deep, penetrating drums while the higher frequencies are like a high pitched flute. Brainwaves can changes according to what you are doing. For example, when slower brainwaves are dominant than you might feel sleepy or sluggish. However, if you have higher brainwaves being dominant that you may “feel wired” or be very alert. There are five well-known brainwave states. They are Alpha, Beta, Delta, Gamma, and Theta.^[1] Each of them will have their own time that they are active, or certain causes and conditions that allow them to be present in the human brain.

For all you really geeky, science types? This next point explains all the particulars and why. A quick breakdown: the raw EEG has usually been described in terms of frequency bands: Gamma greater than 30(Hz) BETA (13-30Hz), ALPHA (8-12 Hz), THETA (4-8 Hz), and DELTA(less than 4 Hz). Your brain typically operates at around 13Hz (high alpha or low beta) for “active” intelligence.^[2] Beta is most dominant during our waking state. Alpha is more associated with a rested, though awake, mind. Delta brainwaves are when we are in a deep sleep state. Whereas Theta is more of that “just falling asleep” or “still half asleep” place. It’s also associated with the spaces of intuition and vivid imagination and inspiration. Gamma is a very high frequency state that may be associated with simultaneous mental processing, and is typically harder to reach. Point is: each one of these brainwaves operates on a particular frequency, and each one of these frequencies is associated with various levels of mental activity. From the deepest sleep to the greatest panic attack: your mind operates at a certain level at certain times! ^[1]

If you have made it through the wave of scientific information than you have found yourself asking the proverbial question of ‘Why?’. You’ll find yourself being answered with the fact that you need to know that your brain operates at different “states of existence.” In the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, it’s referred to as “bardos”. Bardo comes to mean “transition” and is applied to “states of being” that you go through of both life and death.^[3] For this tradition, the idea can be that when you are in certain “altered states of consciousness” that you are closer to Enlightenment. Is this any different than the “altered states of consciousness” reported by psychedelic drug users? Or, people who have had near-death experiences and stated that they felt that they “found God” or “went to Heaven”?

[1] What are brainwaves? What are Brainwaves ? Types of Brain waves. (n.d.). Retrieved February 11, 2022, from https://brainworksneurotherapy.com/what-are-brainwaves
[2]The Science of Brainwaves - The Language of the Brain. NeuroHealth Associates. (2019, December 2). Retrieved February 17, 2022, from https://nhahealth.com/brainwaves-the-language/
[3]Rigpa Shedra. (n.d.). Bardo. In Rigpa Wiki. Retrieved February 22, 2022, from http://www.rigpawiki.org/index.php?title=Bardo.

Maybe that wasn’t enough for you and you’d like to get a video in on brainwave frequencies? Check this out, then!
One of our favorite holistic doctors gives an in-depth explanation that connects brainwaves and manifestation.