Focusing on nothingness lowers consciousness (Delta Brainwaves), Love raises it (Gamma Brainwaves)

Advaita Vedanta (Non-duality) teaches that this lowered consciousness of the lower Delta Brainwave State (which is only 0.1- 3 Hz), the lowest frequency of consciousness, is the highest state of consciousness:

In Advaita Vedanta, deep dreamless sleep is considered the highest state of consciousness. If one can stay aware or conscious while in deepest dreamless sleep, a deep meditative state (known as "jagrat sushupti") is said to be achievable. This notion of paradoxical consciousness may be linked to high cortical activity which happens during the delta-sleep.

Buddhist monks and novice meditators were meditating and had a similar brainwave frequency state of consciousness, but focusing on Compassion, raised the Buddhists Monks brainwave frequency state to the highest level of The Gamma Brainwave frequency state of consciousness ever seen in humans:

A 2004 study took eight long-term Tibetan Buddhist practitioners of meditation and, using electrodes, monitored the patterns of electrical activity produced by their brains as they meditated. The researchers compared the brain activity of the monks to a group of novice meditators (the study had these subjects meditate an hour a day for one week prior to empirical observation). In a normal meditative state, both groups were shown to have similar brain activity. However, when the monks were told to generate an objective feeling of compassion during meditation, their brain activity began to fire in a rhythmic, coherent manner, suggesting neuronal structures were firing in harmony. This was observed at a frequency of 25–40 Hz, the rhythm of gamma waves.These gamma-band oscillations in the monk’s brain signals were the largest seen in humans (apart from those in states such as seizures).

Delta wave – (0.1 – 3 Hz)
Theta wave – (4 – 7 Hz)
Alpha wave – (8 – 15 Hz)
Mu wave – (7.5 – 12.5 Hz)
SMR wave – (12.5 – 15.5 Hz)
Beta wave – (16 – 31 Hz)
Gamma wave – (32 – 100 Hz)

This shows that Love is stronger than nothingness. Love has the highest power, focus on Love and your consciousness will increase its frequency and you will notice a positive change in brain activity (including lucid dreaming, better focus, and memory recall). Gamma brainwaves are the only energy frequency strong enough to stimulate the entire brain.

You will release happy hormones such as dopamine (the satisfaction feeling hormone) and oxytoxin (the empathy and bonding hormone).

You will decrease blood pressure and cortisol stress hormone levels which kills brain cells and cause memory loss.

"May all beings have happiness"

a reply to: arpgme

Can you provide a link to your sources please?

a reply to: arpgme
I would be interested in knowing where the Advaita information came from?

a reply to: Itisnowagain

This is from wikipedia:

In Advaita Vedanta, deep dreamless sleep is considered the highest state of consciousness. If one can stay aware or conscious while in deepest dreamless sleep, a deep meditative state (known as "jagrat sushupti") is said to be achievable. This notion of paradoxical consciousness may be linked to high cortical activity which happens during the delta-sleep.

And it's true that advaita teachers are teaching people to fall into this lower state of consciousness:

What does it all mean? It means that bliss comes only from inside ourselves and that it is most intense when we are free from thoughts and perceptions, which create the world and the body, that is, when we are in our pure being, which is Brahman, the Self. In other words, the being alone is bliss and the mental superimpositions are ignorance and, therefore, the cause of misery. That is why samadhi is also described as sushupti in jagrat [sleep in the waking state]; the blissful pure being which prevails in deep sleep is experienced in jagrat, when the mind and the senses are fully alert but inactive. (Guru Ramana, pp. 112-13)

"Jagrat Sushupti: The state of wakeful sleep, in which there are no thoughts but in which there is full awareness of the existence-consciousness 'I am'." - Mooji.org, Glossary

There are people in the advaita (non-duality) community that are taught by these advaita teachers to fall into this lower state of consciousness (Delta).

Delta brainwave is one of the most restorative brainwaves you can ever be in. It is linked to HGH & anti-aging hormone production since it is primarily produced during stages 4 of sleep, deep sleep when the body restores itself. (Also in people with ADD or brain damage)

Gamma waves are very bad for the body if you are not in control of them. These monks have years of training which allows them to safely pass into that level. Using things like brainwave entertainment forces your brain into a frequency it has not been fully acquainted with. If you already produce abundant beta brainwaves, combining these two can be detrimental to the health of an individual.

I personally believe humans were never meant to go beyond low-beta brainwaves (12-18hz), but with our newly developed fast paced society, we have been forced into the higher states which I believe wears the body down over time.

I believe some of the greatest innovations, and philosophies came from people who spent their time primarily in alpha and/or theta brainwave state.

Unless one can found unconditional love from nothingness. Focusing to something is not the same thing as i understand, if that is the meter then obviously focusing to anything really could bring higher frequensis in the brainwaves than focusing to nothingness... "Shutting" down the mind and ego does not mean human become drooling zompie...

Alpha, Theta, and/or Delta do not lower consciousness. They lower brainwaves.
Neither does Gamma raise consciousness. It raises brainwaves.
However, I would agree that what you focus on is key. Focusing on "nothingness" helps to quiet the incessant chatter of the mind. That's one of the reasons for going into deeper states of meditation. Focusing on love may very well aid in raising your brainwaves to gamma, if that is your goal, but it does not raise your consciousness, so to speak. Unless you have a different definition of consciousness than what I understand. Interesting OP. S&F.

a reply to: FelisOrion


Delta is the same time of conscious that people in a deep comatose have. It's even called the "dreamless sleep" frequency.

For those who meditate and can reach this state while awake, it's called
"Jagrat Sushupti" (wakeful sleep).

The Light is The Higher Frequency and The Light is Pure Love and our purpose is Love. People see The Light that created all Life when they die and are brought back to life to speak about it.

Nothingness, darkness, void, dreamless state, nihilism, meaninglessness, is the lower consciousness (unaware of The Light). It's called "emptiness" for a reason. The Light is Fullness, Meaning, and Fulfillment.

The Gamma Brainwaves inspire "A Ha!" moments of revelation/insight and they are also anti depressants. Gamma Brainwaves are the only brainwaves powerful enough to stimulate the entire brain simultaneously.

Good to know!

When I meditate I go into the feeling of love on the in breath and compassion on the out breath. I differentiate between the two feelings, I feel like love is a more inward attraction and compassion is a more expanding feeling.

But in either case i recommend not using thoughts and only feelings. Try to blank your mind and feel compassion and love.

This works amazing for me and usually puts me in a trance to where i can astral project.

Someone needs to better inform their selves on basic electrical knowledge and brainwave state correlations.

I'm so not going to bother.

Compassion and Love are two very different concepts as are nothingness and emptyness.

Conflating Hinduism (Vendanta) with Buddhism is problematic however practical in making a point.

Nice post. I wouldn't start with lucid dreaming as a goal (goals of any sort hinder 'practice') but any persistance practice will help us all.

Thank you.

I lower my brainwaves across the frontal lobes (FP1-FP2) with ease. I have a large, constant spike at 1 and 3 hz, easily hundreds of times the amplitude of the other present brainwaves (which are barely readable)

When I incorporate feelings of love, that being specifically concentrating on my partner and feelings of, emptiness, I get a small increase in theta, generally 3-6hz, peaking at 5.

(I have my own EEG and have performed similar experiments in hospital while on their EEG)

I have observed results consistent with studies on meditation and the benefits of such.

a reply to: arpgme

very intriguing info! thanks for sharing.

I don't know what to make of it, if I am really honest. But in any case of advaita vedanta or nothingness does not mean zero or void. They to are teaching about universal love and virtues and correct mindset for spirituality and so one. And Buddhist also have their emptiness. Read the heart sutra if you are not familiar with it one of the core teachings of Buddhist, or diamond sutra which is more of the same stuff about emptiness.

But there are differences. In my opinion Yogis are more technical. They are known for their extensive knowledge about prana and how to control it correctly to achieve self-realization and what to focus on to get to siddhis. While Buddhist are focusing more on the right thinking, speech and action based on love and compassion.

The end game is the same, it is only a matter of what suits your individual needs, beliefs, ect...

So things are not black and white as you explained in OP.

Maybe this measure is taken to literary? I mean we should observe a true devotee of both ways for months and than we would get real picture of how the brain works. Maybe in the end there would not be much of a difference?

No, they don't raise or lower your consciousness, but they can have their effect on cognitivty where the brain wave names are measurements of speed of what the brain is working at. Gamma is the fastest and most active, while Delta is the slowest, but least active of them.

The speed at which the waves go at all have their benefits and purpose, but they all have their cons and pros on the body. Gamma might me the most energetic and active, but also the most stressful and tense, where beta just being mentally awake and focused, then Alpha in the middle where it has best of both worlds. Theta the second slowest function, and is often related to imagination, sleep, an dreaming, while Delta might be the most slowest and least active since in this state, one can't dream, but possibly the most restorative of all brain functions due to inactivity of the brain.

You could think of the classification of brain waves are alot like RPMs(Rotations per Min) on a car, the longer the car stays reved up, it will overheat, burn oil, and just waste gas, but if the car doesn't get turned on every now and then, and isn't rev'd to stretch, it will just rust due to inactivity, but when it gets turned on, and doesn't take the time to warm up, you'll blow a gasket.

Being in a lower active beta, while in high Alpha speed might as well be like cruising at 40 km an hour.

I guess I experience that when I cuddle my pet cat...

Remember that you don't experience a single brainwave across the entirety of your brain.

Obviously your brain is performing many functions at once, some are firing off the neurons very rapidly, others slowly.

You experience different things in different parts of the brain. The feeling of love will trigger more than a little deviance from the norm.

According to this love is experienced in 12 areas of the brain.

originally posted by: Klassified
Alpha, Theta, and/or Delta do not lower consciousness. They lower brainwaves.
Neither does Gamma raise consciousness. It raises brainwaves.
However, I would agree that what you focus on is key. Focusing on "nothingness" helps to quiet the incessant chatter of the mind. That's one of the reasons for going into deeper states of meditation. Focusing on love may very well aid in raising your brainwaves to gamma, if that is your goal, but it does not raise your consciousness, so to speak. Unless you have a different definition of consciousness than what I understand. Interesting OP. S&F.

You're conscious of nothing sleeping. Aware of multiple (some yet to've existed) realities thinking. Gamma's the highest possible thinking state.

Although alpha's best for normative functioning. Inducing calmness and a receptive state. Imagining these brainwaves in our minds helps enable the attainment of.