Although I take a clearly biological approach to change, so did the
mystics. They just used different terminology to describe the process. The
end result is the same—breaking the addiction to the body, the environment,
and time. Only when we make that separation can we change. Only when
we think greater than the Big Three can we truly live independent of them,
and reestablish dominion over how we think and feel on a daily basis.
For too long, we’ve been running unconscious programs that have been
controlling us. Meditation allows us to reassert control.
Awareness comes first—recognizing when and how those programmed
responses take over is essential. When you move from the unconscious to
the conscious, you begin to close the gap between how you appear and who
you are.
The Waves of Your Future
Since knowledge is, as we’ve seen, the precursor to experience, having a
basic understanding of what happens in the brain during meditation will
serve you well when you begin to learn and experience the meditative
process coming up shortly in Part III.
You probably know that the brain is electrochemical in nature. When
nerve cells fire, they exchange charged elements that then produce
electromagnetic fields. Because the brain’s diverse electrical activity can be
measured, these effects can provide important information about what we’re
thinking, feeling, learning, dreaming, and creating and how we are
processing information. The most common technology scientists use to
record the brain’s changing electrical activity is an electroencephalograph
(EEG).
Research has discovered a wide scope of brain-wave frequencies in
humans, ranging from the very low levels of activity found in deep sleep
(Delta waves); to a twilight state between deep sleep and wakefulness
(Theta); to the creative, imaginative state (Alpha); to higher frequencies
seen during conscious thought (Beta waves); to the highest frequencies
recorded (Gamma waves), seen in elevated states of consciousness.^1
To help you better understand your journey into meditation, I’m going to
give you an overview of how each of these states relates to you. Once you