CONSCIOUSNESS, THE BRAIN & BEHAVIOUR

​Introduction

When I teach Cyclic Meditation and people tell me about the effects they experience in the days following their sessions, I find myself looking deeper into the mechanisms of consciousness and how we are able to affect them. I look to find the answers in the realms of modern physiology and pharmacology to help people understand how the ancient ‘scientists’, through experimentation, realised that brain patterns and body responses could be enhanced or altered through concentration and inner awareness.

Brain Waves and Cyclicity

The complexity of the nervous system and how it determine states of consciousness and the ways in which the brain produces behaviours is a vast topic and we still don’t know enough about the mechanisms involved. Consider that just one neuron may be connected to over 200,000 other neurons through its synapses. It is like a superhighway network. This one fact proves how complex even a simple movement or behaviour is, and is one of the reasons why we bring such acute awareness to our body in the slow, steady postures we assume when practicing Cyclic Meditation. The slowness of gliding your arm along the floor when in savasana takes a lot more concentration than just moving the arm at speed.

Our wakefulness or sleepiness are the states of consciousness, while our thoughts, perceptions, ideas, dreams etc. are the experiences that occur during these states. When synchronising your breath with the movement of the abdomen you perceive the changes in size of the belly and experience the calmness of the breath as you lie back. When nearing the sleep state there are different experiences that might be muscles relaxing or a twitch to the eye, or a change in breathing. Everything is occurring with the guidance of our nervous and hormonal systems.

The nerve activity is manifested by electrical signals which can be recorded using an Electroencephalogram[EEG]. The patterns in an EEG record are the brain's neurons near the surface firing electrical impulses which are seen as waves. The cause of the wavelike nature, or rhythmicity, of the EEG is uncertain, nor is it known where in the brain it originates. As with everything in nature there are vibrations with rhythmic patterns and cyclicity. A wave forms, goes up and down and up and down and merges back into itself. It’s a never ending cycle that appears and disappears. No different to a breath we take, a heartbeat, pulse or life and death itself.

The difference in EEG wave patterns can be seen from waking state to sleep state. When awake and relaxed we see the alpha waves which are associated with a peaceful state of tranquility. At normal levels of alertness or when we are overthinking and feeling anxious we see faster beta waves. These get faster and faster and people spend most of their daily life operating at this level. The level we know as the fight or flight of sympathetic nervous transmission causing the release of stress chemical like cortisol and adrenaline. It is this continued release which eventually wears our body, organs and cells down. When we say mind over matter, it can be seen that when we spend more time in relaxed alpha waves, the happier and more healthy we are, especially when that is associated with good sleep patterns.

As the person becomes more drowsy then alpha waves will slow down further until sleep occurs. Deeper meditation and creative insight have been attributed to the slower theta waves that start to take us towards the slower, deepest delta wave of dreamless sleep.

The Rapid Eye Movement [REM] sleep exhibits random, fast waves, closer to those seen in an awake state, but they hare highly asynchronous, and various functions resume like the eyes move, the nervous system activates breathing and heart rate which all become irregular; then we cycle back into deeper dreamless sleep and back. The full sleep cycle brings countless changes to the body and hormones and is of immense benefit to the body and subconscious. Uninterrupted sleep continues in this cyclical manner moving through wave stages with an episode of REM sleep four or five times a night.

The research with Cyclic Meditation has shown that only 35 minutes practice daily can give three times more rest than 6 hours of restful sleep. This is measured by basal metabolic rate of participants and contributes to overall improved sleep and productivity, while potentially needing less of it since the body is able to rejuvenate in these episodes of meditation.

Cyclicity is everywhere, external and internal and we see it in the patterns described above. These changes are dependent upon our focus and attention and ability to calm our overactive thought processes. In Cyclic Meditation you are aware of  what is happening and yet you are undergoing a deep relaxation where your muscles release tension and the tone decreases which only happens in the sleep state. You are still aware of what is happening yet less concerned about the sensory stimuli around you as you close your eyes and allow the guidance to enhance the alpha waves, to achieve a peaceful state of relaxation with awareness. This is mindfulness.


The Importance of Alpha Waves

In studies it has been shown that alpha brain waves can boost creativity and  potentially help to reduce depressive symptoms. It follows that practicing Cyclic Meditation will increase the time you spend in alpha waves which are one step away from the sleep state and logically contribute to better sleep following a Cyclic Meditation session.

Similarly, on the other side of the alpha waves, we are one step away from the more active beta waves which show how you respond to stimuli and react. But, with repeated practice, the body slowly starts to understand and enjoy the alpha state, and your mind habitually starts to reduce its time spent in needless thoughts and over activity of the imagination. Thus, the technique of cyclic meditation will make you more focused on what is important and allow you to switch off from unimportant stimuli so you can rest, sleep and be productive.


Summary

It is well known that sleep deprivation is associated with reduced immune system functioning and may also contribute to changes in behaviour if it is accompanied by stress. It is even better understood that stress is a root cause of almost all diseases and the sooner we start to harness the power of controlling stress in our lives, the sooner we will rise to good health and wellness. Give yourself the opportunity to learn to relax and to embrace the wonder of life and nature.