Brainwave Entrainment
Instant Meditation & Mental Bliss
“Music has long been known to influence our mood, either energizing us or promoting relaxation. Yet, when faced with pain, stress, anxiety, or insomnia, specific frequencies can swiftly alleviate these issues through proven sound therapy.”
Les Konley, creator of Aura Tonic™
Our brainwaves are the result of billions of neurons communicating with each other, and they are almost constantly changing from moment to moment, depending upon what we are doing or what we are thinking about – even when we are asleep.
Our brain’s electrical activity can be measured, and its normal operation can be visualized as oscillations across a very distinct range of frequencies. The frequencies of our brain are subject to conscious , subconscious , and synchronized changes in response to external stimulation of our visual, auditory, and/or central nervous systems.
Brainwave entrainment (BWE) is the practice of synchronizing one’s brainwaves to a desired frequency via external stimulation.
Entrainment (in bio-musicology) is the synchronization of organisms to an external rhythm (i.e., dancing at a club). In either case, entrainment causes harmony and synchronization of our brain, heart, or cells.
Synchronization of Brain Hemispheres
Each of our brain hemispheres can be in sync or out of sync with the other.
Out-of-sync brain hemispheres can contribute to PTSD, anxiety, stress, and pain (but obviously not the only cause).
Synchronized brain hemispheres result in calmness, focus, flow states, and optimal performance. When our brain halves work together, we experience peace of mind, a sense of purpose and determination, and genuinely reduced pain and anxiety.
Anything that brings our brainwaves into synchronization and within the brain’s natural calm frequencies is considered to have healing benefits. Today, we can use our technology to encourage the brain to shift gears into any brainwave state we desire. We can target specific frequencies and routinely achieve remarkably specific results.
This form of “bio-hacking,” in which we safely stimulate our brains into synchronization, is called “Brain Wave Entrainment” (BWE).
Entrainment Shifts Your State of Mind
Audio entrainment stimulates the brain through the ears with frequencies that guide you into different states of mind. Since different brain frequencies can be targeted and modulated at will, it is helpful to understand these frequencies and how they contribute to your states of consciousness.
There are brain frequencies higher than these, but we will only concern ourselves with those that help us calm down here.
- Alpha (8–12 Hz): Calm, creative flow
- Theta (4–8 Hz): Deep meditation, emotional healing
- Delta (0.5–4 Hz): Deep sleep, cellular repair
If we use the word entrainment interchangeably with words like focus, meditation, or flow, then listening to music in your car is a form of entrainment; even more so when you’re singing along. But when we listen to harmonic tones that were composed specifically for entrainment, your brain synchronizes much faster than with regular music.
Going to a club or a concert, and even going to church, all involve periods of group entrainment, where everyone is “vibing” on the same channel or frequency. Even our heartbeats synchronize in such situations!
BWE = Facilitated Meditation
The ultimate goal of self-awareness is to learn better control of our thoughts and emotions. Using binaural audio for brainwave entrainment (BWE) is a safe way to accelerate self-awareness training. Listening to this type of healing audio can be done almost anywhere, anytime – as long as you have some halfway-decent earbuds.
BWE is not some mysterious brain-washing technology. Instead, it leverages the complexity of our audio neurology to help us quickly bring calm to our minds. There’s not a lot of difference between brainwave entrainment and meditation. Any practice that helps wind down the mind and calm the body is easy to incorporate into your daily schedule.
Thus, listening to binaural audio can help anyone accelerate their mindfulness practice and enjoy more of what life has to offer.
Brain Training With Targeted Audio
The concept of entrainment involves manipulating your brainwaves, usually to achieve a more balanced state of mind or to enter specific states of consciousness. Be sure to read the references provided within this article to get a full understanding of what it’s all about. There’s plenty of in-depth scientific research on how to fine-tune entrainment to target specific mental health issues.
The advantage here is that entrainment literally trains your brain, and this training is useful in your everyday life, even when you are not engaged in an entrainment session. You are training yourself to be able to “recall the feeling” of being in a calm and peaceful state of mind, whenever and wherever needed. Summon your willpower in times of greatest suffering through mindbody awareness. Regular audio entrainment sessions can help.
Collective Group Entrainment
In one form or another, brainwave entrainment has always been a natural part of our evolution. From drum ceremonies and chanting to dance clubs and stadium concerts, humans have come together for thousands of years in social celebrations involving rhythms, music, singing, humming, and chanting.
When people in a group collectively vibe on the same frequency or beat, it is said that everyone’s heartbeat and breathing rhythms tend to synchronize with the music or rhythm they are focused on. It’s a shared experience.
Interestingly, participation in these rituals tends to calm the mind by providing a natural source of brain and body entrainment, while also encouraging us to breathe more deeply through chanting, singing, or dancing. This combination of motion and breathing, as part of a social gathering, still occurs today in clubs and music festivals around the world. Thus, music entrainment is a part of the fabric of our lives.
Listening to Entrainment Audio At Home
So, really, the idea of entraining people by using sound or repetitive motion isn’t anything new. It’s a gentle method to help your mind calm down, which in turn allows your body to calm down. In this way, our anxiety and pain can be temporarily alleviated simply by listening to some audio. That’s pretty exciting!
Entrainment is suitable for use in the comfort of your own home. Expect it to take at least 7-10 minutes after you start listening to entrainment audio for your brainwaves to synchronize to the targeted frequency.
You may need to explore the different forms of entrainment before you find tracks that work for your needs. Search online for “binaural beats for anxiety” or “binaural frequencies for pain relief” and see what you come up with. Just be sure to stay away from frequencies above 16Hz to stay in the “chill zone.”
You can get started now for free with the meticulously crafted sound therapy tracks I’ve made available here on my Aura Tonic page.
Audio Entrainment Provides the Same Benefits As Meditation
Anything that encourages our brain to fall into Alpha or Theta brainwaves has healing benefits.
Whether we use brainwave optimization or mindfulness meditation, we end up in the same place: a calm mind with improved self-awareness and self-control. Whether we call it self-hypnosis, “flow state,” entrainment, or meditation, the state of mind achieved is similar in each case.
Thus, brainwave entrainment is helpful for all stress-related problems, depression, insomnia, PTSD, ADHD, anxiety, chronic pain – including fibromyalgia – and every other symptom related to these, especially when used for 20-30 minutes on a daily basis.
Bilateral audio stimulation can even provide relief for tinnitus (ringing in the ears). Visit the Rewiring Tinnitus website for more information https://rewiringtinnitus.com/relief/
Deeper States of Calm Through Brainwave Optimization
Brainwave optimization helps achieve deeper calm by training the brain to shift from high-stress beta waves to relaxed alpha and theta waves. Audio entrainment pairs well with humming and chanting, visualization, and deep-breathing exercises.
Audio entrainment is a technology-assisted form of meditation that can help you achieve greater control over your racing thoughts and emotions.
By reducing overactivation of the sympathetic nervous system, optimization strengthens the parasympathetic “rest and digest” response, physically relaxing the body and lowering heart rate.
Entrainment helps accelerate any form of meditation, as long as you’re listening to audio specifically made for the purpose of entrainment, such as binaural beats or isochronic tones. Learn more about these and educate yourself on the Aura Tonic™ page of this website.
Tips & Warnings
Entrainment actually changes your brain state. Another way to put it is that entrainment changes your state of consciousness. Do it at home, where you’ll be safe to practice, listening with earbuds and eyes closed.
Binaural beats are not subliminal; if you can’t hear the low-frequency beats, then it won’t work. Stay away from high-frequency tracks (above 16Hz) that can potentially make your anxiety worse. Learn more about which frequencies to target here on the Aura Tonic™ page of this website.
While entrainment is generally safe, several websites advise that people with a heart murmur, heart arrhythmia, or a pacemaker consult their doctor before listening to binaural frequencies or using other technologies to change brain states.
WARNINGS: It is recommended on several sites that people who are susceptible to seizures, have a pacemaker, or are under the age of 8 should probably not listen to binaural frequencies or try audio-visual entrainment, nor flashing lights or applications of the sort.
Make sure you breathe deeply while listening to binaural beats. Binaural beats in the Theta brainwave range may make you drowsy or put you to sleep (which is helpful for insomnia).