Posts by iAwake Technologies
Sharpen Your Swords
Recently, my wife Pam and I were at a conference focused on where contemplative wisdom and technology intersect. It was a very interesting, extraordinary experience. One of the remarkable things that went on was hearing from a number of MIT-, Harvard-, and Brown University-trained neuroscientists talk about meditation and neuroscience. As I listened, it became…
Read MorePotential Use of Brainwave and Biofield Entrainment Tech in Self-Managing Bulimia
Let me start with an introduction. I live in St. Petersburg, Russia where I maintain private practice in Integral psychotherapy after graduating as clinical psychologist from St. Petersburg State University in 2010. I have been using various products by iAwake Technologies for more than two years already to assist my integral life practice (that involves,…
Read MoreCreativity and Conscious Evolution
I picked up a book the other day by Rollo May called The Courage to Create, published in 1975. Rollo May was an existential psychologist, and I think he was quite influential in some of Ken Wilber’s early stuff. His half-brother, Gerald May, wrote a classic in the recovery field, calledAddiction & Grace. Anyway, The Courage to…
Read MoreHope at the End of the Tunnel
I was recently in the Bay Area to teach a class on Addiction Studies. When my class and I did our first meditation together, we sank into a very deep meditative state, one which we could all really feel. When you meditate in a group, there is a definite field of energy, a palpable coming…
Read MoreYour Passion Your Practice
I have been passionately playing electric blues guitar for about two years now. Before that, I spent about forty years playing acoustic rhythm guitar and a little bit of lead. Then two years ago this August, I fell in love with a guitar at a friend’s house. He was selling a vintage guitar―which I bought…
Read MoreTrue Patriotism and the Integral Way
On the 4th of July this year, I was thinking about patriotism. We were considering having a 4th of July sale on iAwake Technologies’ products and the slogan, “Be a good patriot this July 4th. Develop your brain.” came to mind. I liked it―a bit humorous, but pretty serious at the same time. What is…
Read MoreSo, what is enlightenment anyway?
I want to talk about non-duality and enlightenment and open up that whole can of worms, because there’s just a lot of talk about it these days. We put ourselves through all kinds of crazy things in order to achieve it: we join ashrams, follow spiritual teachers, spend lots of money, and really do all…
Read MoreCombining PMP Meditations with Unassisted Meditations
Q: In the ILP literature, Ken Wilbur does endorse the use of “auditory meditation aids” such as this, but also emphasizes the need for an onging meditation practice without such aids. With only so much time in a day to meditate, since I am a householder and not a monk, what is your perspective? My…
Read MoreA Common Misconception About Carrier Frequency in Binaural Brainwave Entrainment
Because the lowering of carrier frequency—or pitch—is capable of providing more of a sense of “fullness” and “drive” to a binaural brainwave entrainment stimulus, it is often mistakenly assumed that such lowering of carrier frequency actually increases the ability of the entrainment stimulus to attract neural activity into its train of influence. This is not so. Scientific research has…
Read MoreConsumerism and the Brain
A short presentation on the proposed neural correlates of consumerism. Because this presentation was originally offered as a live talk, much of the pertinent information was spoken in person and therefore not included in print form in the PowerPoint. As such, the visual presentation, when viewed by itself, may seem to be lacking in information.
Read MoreKeys to Meditation Part 1 – Letting Go
Have you ever noticed how the mind wants to focus on solving problems during meditation? It can seem daunting to quiet its incessant chatter. The objective of meditation is to connect with our spirit, the part of our nature that transcends and includes the busy mind. The key to meditating effectively is to remember that…
Read MoreSpace and the Art of Letting Go
In the moment just before the Zen archer releases the arrow to strike the bull’s-eye, all inner static vanishes with the emergence of effortless clarity. Before any action has begun, the martial arts master stands poised in infinite silence, completely centered and ready for anything. Scientific research reveals an interesting neurological phenomenon correlated with inner…
Read MoreThe Deeper Meaning of Entrainment
The Tao never does anything, yet through it all things are done. If powerful men and women could center themselves in it, the whole world would be transformed by itself, in its natural rhythms. ~ Lao Tzu If you “Google” the term “entrainment,” you’ll find dozens of responses, many of them pertaining to brainwave entrainment, which has…
Read MoreBrainwave States in Traditional Buddhist and Hindu Teachings Part 4
Causal Body, Causal State Termed the karana sarira in Vedanta, the causal body is deemed to be limitless and expansive in nature, a body of bliss and spirit. It is the seat of deep wisdom and insight. Certain Buddhist manuscripts have asserted this state to be approachable through the state of deep, dreamless sleep. As such, its…
Read MoreBrainwave States in Traditional Buddhist and Hindu Teachings Part 3
Subtle Body, Subtle State In Mahayana Buddhism, the sambhogakaya refers to the subtle body, or the astral body, which is made of brilliant, clear light. Vedanta calls this the sukshma sarira, correlating it with the “dreaming self” that supports the emotional-sexual, mental and higher mental capacities. Its corresponding state is one in which the mental capacity for discernment…
Read MoreBrainwave States in Traditional Buddhist and Hindu Teachings Part 2
Gross Body, Gross State The densest body in Vedanta is the gross body—the sthula sarira, which supports the waking state of consciousness as well as the annamayakosha, the outermost of five sheaths which cover the deepest Self like a 5-layered lampshade. It is the physical body made up of the five elements: earth, water, fire, air and…
Read MoreBrainwave States in Traditional Buddhist and Hindu Teachings Part 1
WAKING, DREAMING, SLEEPING by Eric Thompson The four brainwave patterns most often studied in science (Beta, Alpha, Theta, Delta) represent states of waking, dreaming and sleeping through which we pass every 24 hours. While all brainwave patterns are usually present throughout the day, Beta activity is dominant during the waking state. Alpha and Theta appear…
Read MoreBrainwave Meditation Programs
My History With Brainwave Meditation Programs by Eric Thompson I first became aware of brainwave meditation programs and brain waves when researching alternative methods for treating the bipolar disorder I had been unsuccessfully living with my entire adult life. I eventually learned a method of releasing difficult emotions on the spot, which I then practiced…
Read MoreDelta Meditation in Tradition and Science
Delta Meditation Q: Is delta meditation really that important? Isn’t gamma more important? Why do some people focus on delta meditation when there is virtually no scientific evidence for it? A: The reason I tend to focus on delta meditation is in part because of its significance in the major meditative traditions. Vedanta, for example,…
Read MoreSpiritual Growth Through Bi-Directional Causality
Ever since the emergence of behaviorism, the trend to interpret the material world as being primary and the world of conscious awareness as being secondary (and therefore without the capacity for causation) has increased steadily and rapidly. The wisdom traditions, on the other hand, have usually maintained that the intangible world of spirit is primary.…
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