Neuro Linguistic Programming

156 Part III: Opening the Toolkit

Baroque music is especially suitable for creating a state of relaxed awareness,

known as the alpha state. To explore this kind of music, look out for the largo

and adagio passages in pieces composed between about 1600 and 1750 –

Bach, Mozart, Handel, and Vivaldi all offer good starting points.

Here are some different ways to think about the music you play. Perhaps

you’re stuck in a groove with your listening taste:

✓ Vary the range of CDs you listen to or the tracks you download to your

MP3 player – from baroque to classical, jazz and blues to reggae, or pop

and rock to opera.

✓ Change the rhythm – compare predictable rhythms with varied and

unfamiliar ones to encourage your creativity. World music is good for

this aspect.

✓ Instrumental or vocal? Words can distract – solo instruments tend to

encourage relaxation.

✓ Intuition – trust your own tastes. Don’t struggle with a piece of music

you dislike: turn it off because it’s unlikely to make you feel good.

✓ Start the day differently – when you feel good in the morning, you get

off to a flying start. Try swapping the confrontational news channel on

the radio for inspiring and uplifting music.

Here’s an exercise to work through an issue with the help of music:

1. Think of an issue or a decision that’s bothering you – rate it on a
   worry scale of 1 to 10 and note the score on a piece of paper.


2. Select three pieces of music of very different styles, from mellow
   to lively.

For example, try some baroque, jazz instrumentals, heavy rock, or

soft vocals.

Brainwaves, from alpha to delta

You have four types of brainwave, measured in

cycles per second:

1. Alpha brainwaves – clear, calm, and relaxed –
   8–12 cycles per second


2. Beta brainwaves – alert and problem solving –
   13–30 cycles per second
   3. Theta brainwaves – creative and imaginative –
   4–9 cycles per second
   4. Delta brainwaves – deep sleep – less than 6
   cycles per second