Effortless floating is within brain reach
Recently I was looking for more knowledge on the functioning of the brain and why I have the best ideas when I have just woken up or when I am in the shower. The past months I notice an increasing need in myself to write down the thoughts and ideas that come to mind in these specific moments so that I can read them again later. They are a real goldmine as it turns out.
So I was curious. Why is this?
There is also another reason for me to go on a search for the working of our brain. I wonder how brainwaves relate to an attentive conversation with someone, with attentive listening to someone’s story. Why? Because I see so many heated discussions. So much word battling. We live in complex times and a lot of different perspectives are present. Voices that need to be heard. How can we then enter into dialogue with the intention to hear, to understand, to learn and to create together? Is it possible for our brains to help us be more receptive? More calm?
My experience as an interviewer and someone that finds great joy in conversations with many different people is that, in order to really be with someone, to be able to be in dialogue with someone, slowing down is essential. Sometimes a conversation with someone else is like a storm that develops into a hurricane. And sometimes a conversation is like a meditation with two. A wave on which we float together and in which attention and time are infinite. When that happens, I feel so moved and so connected.
But how is this possible?
I found an article from Scientific American. It describes 4 brain waves in a clear way . While reading the article I got the feeling that I didn’t read anything new while reading something new. It was about me and my brain and I emperically recognized a lot of what is scientifically known about our brains.
So four brainwaves.
The Beta State — is the wave we swim around in the most during the day. The frequency of this wave varies from 15 to 40 cycles per second. It’s the wave you experience when you’re doing a presentation or when you’re accomplishing a difficult task. Our brain is stimulated. Our brain is on.
Nowadays we tend to hang around in High Beta waves where stress and anxiety float freely. And this is why I found it so interesting to read about the other brain states that tend to be slower and with a different effect on the body and mind.
The Alpha State — This wave is slower. There is no stimulation. The frequency of this wave varies from 9 to 14 cycles per second. The amplitude (vibration) is higher in this wave. You experience this wave when you have completed a task and have sat down somewhere quiet. You experience it when you reflect or meditate or when you walk in nature.
The Theta State — This wave is even slower. The frequency varies from 5 to 8 cycles per second. The amplitude is again higher. You experience Theta when you daydream or when you drive on the highway and your actions have become so automatic and the traffic is so quiet that you can’t remember the last 5 minutes. And here it comes. People who spend a lot of time in the car often get good ideas while they drive. People who run and who experience flow in it — ditto. It can also happen in the shower or bath. It’s a very positive state of being. A very nice wave, shall we say. A wave on which floating takes no effort. The wave that also helps in accelerated recovery of the immune system.
The Delta State — This wave is even slower. The frequency varies from 1.5 to 4 cycles per second. A tenth in speed if you compare this wave with the beta wave . The amplitude is also higher. We sail the delta wave when we sleep. In this state we heal even more. Our immunesystem recovers even more. Very important state I came to understand.
And then I read…
When we wake up, that waking process goes from delta through theta and alpha to beta. This process takes on average between 5 to 15 minutes. In this period we can experience a free flow of ideas.
This process of waking up quietly is a hugely productive process. Effortlessly, there is a stream of ideas and reflections that presents itself. But do I take the time to notice this? Do I take the rest to dig up the gold presented to me? I come to a sad conclusion…
Many times I don’t.
In another article about neurofeedback I also read that if I experience concentration problems or chaos, it is because my brain is insufficiently able to switch between the desired brain activities or brain waves. I understand from this that if I try to do something attentive without attention, I use a lot of energy with little to no result.
Why do I find this so interesting?
Because every wave has its own qualities. Every wave has the ability to improve, stimulate and to effortlessly bring my qualities in accordance with this wave.
Beta is easily accessible to most of us. It’s a wave we really appreciate and that is highly appreciated in todays society. Experiencing healthy tension is fine of course. But what’s next? Another beta activity? Or even high beta?And then… beta again?
After a strong storm, a rippling sea is quite pleasant. Rest at the head. The wind that settles. The experienced processed.
That I like to write so much in the morning just after waking up or that I like to shower for a long time (guilty pleasure) is not so strange. It’s in those moments that I don’t have to pull grass to make it grow harder (which doesn’t work anyway of course…). It’s those moments in a day when the focus is on going inward. Effortlessly. All I have to do is be aware of it and allow myself to be.
In a world that seems to be spinning faster and faster than ever, where attention is scarce and time is precious, it helps me to know that there are other waves to choose from. That effortless floating is within brain reach. That effortless floating can be found within. And that surfing the variety of waves sooths us.
