isochronic tones

[ezzo]

Hi all, i have just started in recent weeks doing formal and informal mindfull ness meditation > i love the fact that it can rewire the brain to create more positive neuron default pathways etc

Anyways i was reading about meditation and stumbled accross 'isochronic beats' which alter the brainwaves to create a meditative state that normally takes buddist monks years to master. The talk about isochronic tones rates them massively as though they are the best thing ever to entrain the mind

I started doing formal mindfullness using alpha isochronic tones and wondered who else has tried this. What experience have you had with isochronic tones and if not then you should try them.

Some of these isochronic tones such as the 'delta' session can put you in a deep trance medative stated within 20 minutes and i wondered how i can best utilize isochronic tones into my daily mindfullness meditation sessions

Thanks for your input everyone

[piedwagtail91]

i don't think this fits in with my views of what mindfulness practice is.
mindfulness isn't about deep trances, it's really about being with whatever is in the here and now and experiencing that, being aware, not in a trance.
mick

[ken300]

I agree totally with 'piedwagtail91' (I'm assuming you're a bird watcher!), to my mind mindfulness is about not doing things on auto-pilot, instead being aware of what's going on in the moment through your senses & not getting caught up in the stories that your mind's trying to tell you.

To me the relationship between mindfulness (or awareness) & meditation is just like that between physical health & exercise. If you want to be healthier you do a bit of exercise, in the same way if you want to be more aware (mindful), doing a bit of meditation each day will 'train your mind' to be more aware during the whole of your day - not just when meditating!

[piedwagtail91]

hi ken, no i'm not really a birdwatcher, the piedwagtail is my daughters black and white dog who wags her tail a lot!!
mick

[ezzo]

So would it be an idea to practise both meditation with isochronic tones and formal mindfulness meditation. If meditation can train your brain to be more aware during the day then surley deep meditation is a good thing? Does deep meditation conflict with being more mindful? confused?!?!

[JonW]

"I don't think this fits in with my views of what mindfulness practice is."
Same here.
"So would it be an idea to practise both meditation with isochronic tones and formal mindfulness meditation."
My personal opinion is that this would not be a good idea. The beauty of mindfulness practice is its simplicity. It doesn't require another form of meditation to be added to the mix.
All best, Jon

[ezzo]

Really appreciate the views guys, thank you. I am 40 years old and have always suffered with anxiety (irrational health worries) etc to a crippling point I tried meditation for a while and discovered mindfullness when i read a book on the subject. Im trying to find the best solution to ease my anxiety and all i read on mindfullness sounds a really good way. It just seems that removing meditation from my life could be a bad thing? Do you think i should stick to formal and informal meditation? Would this help with anxiety in the long run. i am lead to believe that mindfullness in everyday life can create new neuron pathways to replace old descructive thinking habits, Im fed up with seeing something on tv about hiv / blindness / cancer etc and feeling overwhelmed with anxirty and fear for the rest of the day even though i am fit and healthy with no illnesses. Any help is very welcomed, thank you

[ken300]

ezzo,

I suddenly had a thought last night - I recently read one of the Dalai Lama's books (I THINK it was 'Beyond religion: ....' and if i remember right it said in there it said about two broad forms of meditative practice:

1 - Developing awareness/mindfulness by paying attention to what your senses are feeling in the moment & not being dominated by whatever your mind's telling you (that's the mindfulness that we all do and you hear about in the news)

2 - Training your mind to bring 'wholesome' attitudes to the forefront that will change your behaviour and benefit society (like kindness, compassion, altruism, etc. etc.) & that's done by actively thinking certain ways during meditation (you do a 'loving-kindness' meditation if you want to be more compassionate for example).

He was saying that when you're doing the second type of meditation (I think it's called Discoursive meditation), you can make it much more effective if when you start meditating you spend time 'cleaning out' your mind so that you have a blank canvas to start with and then doing it.

I suspect this may be what the isochronic tones are trying to achieve - wiping the mind clear so that you can instil things in it by meditating on them (Discoursive meditations). I'm fairly sure this is a Buddhist thing.

If any of this is rubbish then I'd be grateful if someone could put me straight!!

My mindfulness 'teacher' always says that the core of your practice is to develop your awareness / mindfulness by doing the first type of meditation above (I do this every morning for 15 minutes) and then, if you want to modify parts of your mind to make yourself more compassionate etc.. do the second type of meditation IN ADDITION to the awareness practice.

Before meditating (3 or 4 years ago) i had huge issues with anxiety / stress / depression etc - now 90%+ of the meditation that i do is the first type of awareness / mindfulness meditation. I've seen absolutely HUGE benefits. Just be aware that it's a 'builds up over time' thing so stick at it and don't expect to be super-calm all the time, i still have good and bad days but they're so much better than they were!

Ken

[JonW]

Hi ezzo.
Have you checked whether there are any mindfulness classes in your area? Enrolling on an 8-week course with a qualified teacher would be the best option. There are also online options.
Otherwise, you might follow the course with the help of Mark Williams & Danny Penman's Mindfulness: Finding Peace In A Frantic World. A truly wonderful book that comes with a CD of guided meditations.
Either way I'd say it's advisable to drop other forms of meditation while you are getting a solid grounding in mindfulness.
As a lifelong worrier, my life has been transformed by mindfulness practice. I hope it helps you too.
All best, Jon

[ezzo]

Thanks for all your replies, im only beggining this journey and am very excited as it is the only thing that can really calm anxiety. At 43 years old, i wish i had discovered this sooner. I did enrol on a 6 week mindfulness course organised byt the Adult Education Center in UK and it was really bad. the teacher was trying to hypnotise us and i dont think she really understood mindfullness at all, i guess some people see it as a buzzword that encompasses all meditation which is wrong

I am lucky to have a few pounds and so have open option regarding a course. Would a real life course be best or should i learn from a book? At the moment i meditate for 20 mins twice a day by just concentrating on the breath and nothing else - is this sufficient to get started with, I dont eben know a 'basic' mindfull meditation so is you guys could give some basic guidance for formal meditation would be great, great forum btw