During my 26 years in natural healing, I have experienced many modalities that transported me into deep spiritual states where I was able to access my inner wisdom.
All manner of meditation techniques.
Hypnosis.
Plant medicine.
Energy healing.
Artificial brain wave stimulation.
But what if transcending your conscious mind was as simple as learning how to breathe?
What if you could bypass your ego, the source of all your inner limitations, by breathing more deeply and completely than you ever have before?
What if there was no remedy for you to take, no practitioner required, no intermediary – natural or artificial – to find your way into your most profound soul wisdom?
Many people believe that they have to ingest something or need a guide to connect them to their own inner guidance.
But my experience is that you can get there quickly and easily with breath work.
When you are in a conscious, alert state, your brain produces beta waves.
These beta waves are measured in hertz, or cycles per second.
When you are in a beta state, your brain waves can be measured at 13 to 38 hz.
As you relax, your brain waves slow to 8 to 13 hz in an alpha state. You can access alpha through all manner of relaxation, including yoga, tai chi, qi gong, meditation, walking in nature or simply lying on your couch.
As you relax even more deeply, your brain produces theta waves of 4 to 7 hz.
Your brain drifts in delta waves of 4 hz or below during deep sleep.
Studies show that deep breathing increases the amount of theta waves you produce in the range of 4 to 7 hz.
Beginning in the slower theta brain wave state, your right brain becomes more active and it becomes easier for you to access intuition, visualization and information beyond your normal conscious awareness.
Theta brainwaves are of greater amplitude and slower frequency.
That means if you followed a graph of your brain in a theta state, the loops would look taller and more spread out than your brainwaves when you are alert.
This is where we are said to be able to access our subconscious mind that lies between the conscious and unconscious.
As you bypass your conscious mind through slowing your breath, you may notice your soul speaking to you through words, pictures, feelings and inner knowings.
In this state, you access insight, intuition and inspiration.
You become a psychonaut, exploring your inner landscape free from the rational mind and opening to your natural intuition, creativity and deeper knowing.
How long will it take you to get there?
You can start by counting how many breaths you take in a minute.
Your respiratory rate is the number of complete breaths you take per minute including your inhale and your exhale.
A normal respiratory rate at rest is between 12 to 20 breaths per minute.
A respiration rate below 12 breaths or above 20 breaths per minute is considered abnormal. If this is the case for you on a regular basis, you may want to consult your medical doctor to check other vital signs for clues about what’s going on with your heart, lungs and body.
Although there are many forms of breath work you can master, simply slowing your breathing slows your brain waves and allows you to transcend your conscious mind – no drug, no remedy, no practitioner, no artificial intermediary required.