Mind States – Chapter One
INTRODUCING LIGHT & SOUND TECHNOLOGY… Continued
A. What Is A Light & Sound Instrument?
Here is a brief summary of the evolution of light and sound: Humanity has been aware of how outside stimulation can affect the mind long before recorded history. We can share that same awareness by sitting around a campfire. Watching the flickering flames creates a soothing, calming sensation within the mind. This same affect is also experienced with rhythmic drum-beats. The continuous, repetitive beats tend to generate a calming affect, while faster repetitions create a more energetic sensation. Within the twentieth century, researchers developed this awareness into highly beneficial instrumentation.
Although scientists knew flickering light and audio beats affected our frame of mind, they were unable to prove how that interaction existed. Then in 1924, Hans Burger, a German psychiatrist, published pictures depicting electrical activity of the human brain. From the discovery of these “wavy” lines emerged a new scientific field called electroencephalography.
These wavy lines are simple to visualize. Just picture a series of peaks and valleys, much like the skyline of a mountain range. When you are asleep, in Delta, those peaks and valleys are at both their highest and lowest points and appear to be spread out. As you gradually awaken and become more alert, progressing from Theta into Alpha, the peaks and valleys begin to shrink in size and are spaced closer together. Then when you are in your normal waking state, Beta, this “mountain range” is at it’s smallest level, with very little space separating the peaks from the valleys.
During the 1940’s several researchers, including W. Gray Walter, utilized powerful electronic strobes with new versions of EEG instrumentation to alter brainwave activity, producing states of profound relaxation and imagery. In 1949, brainwave signals were brought to the screen with the invention of the Tuposcope. This breakthrough allowed the tracking of brain-wave patterns (Beta, Alpha, Theta and Delta). Within five years, hundreds of hospitals were compiling EEG’s.
In the 1950’s and 1960’s, research on Zen and Yoga meditators showed a predominance of alpha and theta waves during meditation. These findings were made through the data collected by researchers including M.A. Wanger of the University of California at Los Angeles; B.K. Bagchi of the University of Michigan School of Medicine; and B.K. Anand of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi (Ditson-Sommer 1995).
Copyright: Michael J. Landgraf & Mindmachines.com, Granada Hills, CA. / November, 2012 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be copied or duplicated without prior written approval by Michael Landgraf.
Published by Little Minnie’s Publishing House. ISBN 10: 0966259602. ISBN 13: 978-0966259605. All inquiries pertaining to this book should contact Michael@Mindmachines.com.