What Are Theta Waves?
Theta waves are high-amplitude but slow-cycling brain waves — frequenting only 4-7 times per second.
That’s really slow for brain activity.
A theta wave cycle lasts about as long as the human eye blinks, or about 4/10 of a second! They are also associated with deep meditation.
Only Delta waves, associated with extremely deep (non-dreaming) sleep, are slower.
Theta waves are associated with dreaming sleep, super learning, creativity, daydreaming, and deep meditation. And with emotional surges, self-reprogramming, and spiritual experiences.
If you’re interested in improving your problem-solving, spiritual connection, intuition, imagination, creativity, and deep relaxation, you’ll want to spend more time in theta.
But if you want to be focused on any specific task, though, you don’t want your brain in theta. Theta is NOT the ideal state for concentrated, focused mental activity.
If you’ve ever been bored out of your mind in school and drifted off to imagination-land, you know how impossible it felt to concentrate on your work.
You had to shift back to the normal waking beta state in order to be able to focus.
Most people have no trouble shifting from theta (daydreaming) to alpha or beta (focused) when they need to concentrate, but people with impaired attention have trouble making the shift.
An inability to shift from daydreaming to a focused state can cause problems in learning and in work situations.
Do you remember how, when you were a little kid, you used to go off into your imaginary world all the time?
Life was a carefree mix of pretend and real life, and there wasn’t a whole lot of difference between the two. One felt just as real as the other: just as exciting, or scary, or mysterious…
Little kids spend a LOT of time in theta. Not only are kids highly imaginative, but like little sponges, they are open to all new ideas. They don’t pre-judge an idea based on their past like adults do. And they are not afraid to try something new, because to kids, everything is new!
Mental Openness: Your Gateway to Super-Learning
The mind automatically judges and categorizes every new bit of information. A lot of what is new gets rejected because it doesn’t fit into the current programming.
Using your imagination in theta removes the judgments and constraints of the logical mind, and allows for unbridled creativity.
The world’s most awe-inspiring inventions were created because the logical “that can’t work” didn’t get in the way!
Think about how much creativity went into the technological advances humans have made in the past 100 years. All innovations start as ideas, and the inventors have to get their ideas from imagination into practical application. Luckily for us, they didn’t listen too much to “that can’t work!”
Imagination is the creative force within you.
You know that if you want to see a dream come true, you have to have the dream first. You have to create the idea of that dream before you do anything to make it happen. Learning to use your imagination constructively means directing it, without the censorship of your logical mind, which will very effectively keep you stuck where you are because anything different and new is automatically considered wrong.
Most practically, theta is the brainwave state most associated with self-reprogramming.
It is amazing how you can imprint new ideas and beliefs into your subconscious when you’re in theta without the constraints of the logical mind that are focused on the current situation. Imprint a new idea as a mental image/emotion, and practice often so it becomes part of you. Then, there’s no stopping you when it comes time to put ideas into action!
Spending more time in theta also helps you become less stressed and less prone to anxiety and wild emotional swings.
Want to Learn a New Language or Complex Skill?
Try learning when you’re in theta.
Little kids pick up new languages effortlessly. Kids are open to learning everything about everything, in part to the high concentration of theta activity in their brains. They don’t have preconceived notions about what is possible and what isn’t. Only adults have those, and you can train yourself to NOT be constrained this way.
And best of all (the most fun) benefit of theta is “getting into the Zone“… oh yes, that wonderful Zone where you completely shut out the world, and become immersed in what you’re doing, just like a little kid pretending to be Luke Skywalker. The Zone is achievable by anyone, not just Jedi masters and munchkins!
“The Zone” goes beyond focus — it’s a complete melding of physical reality and imagination. Athletes get in the zone all the time; so do artists, musicians, inventors, and anyone who has had to integrate an idea with the physical application.
How can you get into theta and still be awake and able to direct your imagination?
The answer: deep meditation!
If you’ve ever meditated, you know that deep meditation is not always easy to get into and very difficult to stay in. Even after years of practice, it’s a constant struggle to get the brain to avoid wandering back to beta (the normal alert brainwave state).
Today, you can take advantage of brainwave entrainment technology to help with meditation.
The technology synchronizes brain activity with an external audio stimulus that creates the exact brainwave state you want to be in. This makes it effortless to get into meditation and stay there for as long as you like.
Since we have had it drilled into our heads that imagination is for children (how unfortunate is that??), meditation is the best way for adults to experience the benefits of theta waves consistently…
And you don’t have to tell anyone you’re daydreaming while you meditate! With a brainwave entrainment meditation audio, it’s easy to meditate and enjoy the theta state every day.
