Candle Meditation

The Advantages of Candle Meditation

If you’ve had problems with other forms of meditation, candle meditation might be the answer.

You may, for example, have found the visualization exercise difficult. For some people reconstituting an image in the “mind’s eye”  can be really hard work.

Now, on the other hand, there’s something attractive about a candle flame. It has a “living” quality that just makes you want to look at it. And that’s its main advantage. You won’t have to struggle to create a mental image. You’ll have a real, concrete image in front of you, one that’s almost begging to be looked at.

Preparation for Candle Meditation

First of all, you’ll need a chair with a high, straight back. It should be one that you can rest your head against if necessary.

You’ll need a candlestick of some sort to place on a desk or table in front of you. This is because the candle flame needs to be at the same height as your face. You shouldn’t be stooping as you look at it.

Please note that the candle should be at least 50 cm from your face.

I didn’t realize until I started to do the research for this post that there was some sort of controversy over which type of candle to use.

There’s apparently a growing number of people who avoid the use of candles made from paraffin wax because they believe that they give off toxic fumes.

This viewpoint could have its origins in research conducted at South Carolina State University in 2009 which showed that paraffin wax candles emitted air pollutants like toluene and benzene.

Apparently lighting the odd candle once in a while doesn’t pose any threat. But lighting candles frequently or lighting many candles at once age could lead to the aggravation of asthma, irritation of the respiratory tract or allergy-like symptoms.

I suppose a sort of worst-case scenario might be taking a hot bath in a small bathroom surrounded by 20 lighted paraffin wax candles.

If you suffer from asthma or other respiratory problems, or if you are simply concerned about this, look for candles made from beeswax or soy wax. Make sure that you see those words on the packaging.

Candle Meditation

Allow at least 10 minutes, plus five minutes rest afterward, for candle meditation.

Sit on your chair with your back straight, but relaxed.

Practice your breathing. Breathe in through your nose, counting to 4. Feel the breath on the bottom of your nostrils as it goes in. Follow it down into your lungs. Feel your abdomen rise. Hold your breath and count to 4. Now breathe out, counting to 4. Feel your abdomen fall. Follow the breath up to your nose. Feel it on your top lip as it goes out.

Turn down the lighting in the room you’re using.

Place the candle in front of you. Light it.

Keep our eyes on the flame. Watch it moving.

Carry on breathing into a count of 4, holding your breath to a count of 4, breathing out to a count of 4.

If you experience distracting thoughts, don’t fight them. Just imagine them like passing clouds… floating away.

Keep watching the candle flame.

Now, as you breathe in, imagine yourself breathing in light from the flame. As you hold your breath, imagine yourself filled with light. As you breathe out, imagine yourself breathing out the light.

You may find, after a time, that your vision of your surroundings gradually fades until you can’t see anything but the candle flame. This is quite OK.

However, if you don’t have this experience, don’t get depressed and feel that you have “failed”.

The purpose of candle meditation, like all other meditation, is to enable you to center yourself, to relax in the present moment. Just breathing, watching the candle flame and allowing distracting thoughts to “float away” will enable you to do this.

After Candle Meditation

When you’ve finished your meditation, either sit in an armchair or lie down.

Close your eyes and rest for about 5 minutes.

Make sure that your vision is back to normal.

As with all forms of meditation, try this a few times before deciding whether you like it or not.

If you decide that candle meditation is for you, practicing it once a day should be enough.

Binaural Beats Meditation

Copyright Galina Barskaya/Dreamstime Stock Photos

What is Binaural Beats Meditation?

The aim of binaural beats meditation is to get you into a state of consciousness like that of meditation by influencing the frequency of your brainwaves. Technically this process is known as brain entrainment. You achieve the desired state of consciousness by listening to binaural beats(usually accompanied by soothing music) through stereo headphones.

How do Binaural Beats work?

Two sounds of almost equal frequencies are played one in each ear by means of headphones or speakers. On hearing them, the brain integrates the two signals and causes the sensation of a third sound which is called the binaural beat.

The frequency of the binaural beat is the difference between the frequencies of the two sounds that are played. So, if a sound of frequency 100 Hz is played to one ear and a sound of frequency 110 Hz is played to the other ear, the brain creates a binaural beat of 10Hz.

When the beat frequency falls within the range of human brainwave frequencies( i.e. 0.5 – 40 Hz), the brainwaves entrain to or move towards the beat frequency.

Brainwaves and the State of Consciousness

There are a variety of human brainwave frequencies. They’re classified by letters of the Greek alphabet. Each one produces a corresponding state of consciousness.

Gamma Waves(over 40 Hz) is associated with the higher mental activity(perception, problem-solving) and fear

Beta Waves (13-40 Hz) are associated with active concentration and busy or anxious thinking

Alpha Waves((7 -13 Hz) are associated with deep conscious relaxation, pre-sleep drowsiness, rapid eye movement sleep and dreams

Theta Waves(4-7 Hz) is associated with deep relaxation and non-rapid eye movement sleep

Delta Waves(less than 4 Hz)  are associated with deep dreamless sleep and loss of consciousness.

Alpha Waves are the ideal frequency range for meditation. A frequency of  10 Hz is ideal.

How to Meditate with Binaural Beats

If you haven’t already got any, get yourself a pair of stereo headphones.

Download some meditation music into which binaural beats have been embedded. There’s a wide variety of music out there. Choose some which you find pleasant and relaxing. Make sure that the music you’ve chosen is designed to entrain your brain to an alpha wave frequency.

Sit upright in a high-backed chair. Place both feet flat on the ground and place your palms face down on your thighs. Close your eyes and follow your breath in and out of your nose.  Feel it on the bottom of your nostrils as it goes in and on your top lip as it goes out. Don’t attempt to control your breathing in any way. Just let it happen. If thoughts come into your mind don’t try to engage with them. Simply let them come and go like passing clouds. Do this for about five minutes.

The rest is easy. Put on your headphones, plug them in and play your music.

Again, if thoughts come into your mind, don’t engage with them. Let them come and go, then gently return your attention to the music.

It’s possible to listen to binaural beats without music(you can find them on the internet). Indeed there are those who say that this is the only way to do it. However, I feel that most people would find it rather boring.

It normally takes about seven minutes for human brainwaves to entrain to the required frequency. An ideal session of binaural beats meditation lasts about 30 minutes.

The Advantages of Binaural Beats Meditation

I’ve included a preliminary breathing exercise in my version of this meditation. It ’s to help you forget about the cares of the day and relax a bit.

But, other than this, with binaural beats meditation, you don’t have to work hard to attain a desired state of consciousness. You just relax and listen.  For this reason, it’s useful for people who find breathing, counting, concentrating and so on difficult.

Most forms of meditation have a sort of “religious” feel about them. That’s because a lot of meditation procedures are secularized versions of Eastern religious practices.  This puts some people off. Binaural beats meditation is more “technical” in nature and might appeal to those people.

Cortisol: The Stress Hormone

What is Cortisol?

Cortisol is a steroid hormone produced from cholesterol in the adrenal glands, which are located at the top of the kidneys.

What does Cortisol do?

Cortisol plays an important part in the human “fight or flight” reaction to threats.

It floods the body with glucose(to provide energy for the muscles). It inhibits insulin production(to prevent glucose from being stored). Along with its partner in crime ephedrine(also known as adrenaline), it narrows the arteries(to make the heart pump faster).

The Problems caused by Cortisol

Now before we talk about such problems it’s important to note that everybody’s cortisol level rises when they are under stress and falls when they are relaxed. The following problems occur when a person is subject to constant stress and their cortisol levels are, as a result permanently elevated.

The purpose of the narrowing of the blood vessels(what doctors call constriction) is to improve the supply of oxygenated blood. Unfortunately one of the side effects of this narrowing will be to raise blood pressure. Indeed blood pressure may be raised even more if ephedrine/adrenalin makes the heart beat faster.

Flooding the body with glucose raises blood sugar levels.

This, in turn, increases the body’s production of triglycerides. Triglycerides are, like cholesterol, a type of fat found in the blood. Triglycerides store unused calories and release energy into the body(often between meals) whereas cholesterol is used to build cells and produce hormones.

It’s widely believed by doctors that high levels of triglycerides can lead to atherosclerosis(the formation of plaque on the artery walls). Unfortunately, research hasn’t yet shown exactly how this happens.

The flooding of the body with glucose, coupled with insulin suppression, may lead to weight gain. It may lead to increased visceral fat storage(under the muscles, deep in the abdomen). It may also make a person feel hungry and encourage them to eat more.

How to keep your Cortisol Levels Down

Basically, you need to make changes to your diet and your lifestyle.

As far as diet is concerned, the following steps should improve matters.

Reduce your intake of drinks that contain caffeine, like coffee and fizzy drinks. Be particularly careful with “energy” drinks like Red Bull. Caffeine raises your cortisol level.

Reduce the number of carbohydrates and sugars that you eat. Be particularly careful with refined carbohydrates like white bread, pasta, and rice. These increase blood sugar levels and this will make you anxious.

Drink plenty of water. Dehydration raises cortisol levels too.

Eat more oily fish like salmon, herring, mackerel, sardines etc. If you don’t like these, try taking odorless Omega 3 fish oil capsules( the high strength ones are best). Fish oil will reduce your cortisol level.

As far as your lifestyle is concerned, try the following changes.

Try a variety of meditation techniques and choose one or two that suit you. Meditation is one of the best methods of controlling cortisol production. The techniques described elsewhere on this blog would be a good place to start.

Laughter is certainly the best medicine as far as cortisol is concerned. Watching a movie or reading a story that makes you laugh will certainly reduce the amount of it in your blood.

Try adaptive exercises(i.e. exercises that are suitable for your particular circumstances ). Because not all exercise is good for you in this case. For example, running raises your heart rate and your cortisol too. Yoga and Pilates are suitable here.

Listen to some soothing music. Once again this will reduce your cortisol level. Those who like it will find binaural beats meditation useful here.

Cautionary Note

Persons who suffer from high blood pressure or who have suffered vascular events should consult their doctor before trying Yoga and Pilates.