Soaking music/Binaural beats

[Alex-C-L]

Im posting this in hope that I can have some constructive feedback on soaking and binaural beats. I have tried soaking using alot of John Belt music but am now wondering whether it is correct as a christian to soak using music which has binaural beats. This type of music enables the brain to relax and opens up other areas which can be helpful in enhancing spiritual experience,- which after all is surley what we do every time we pray.
Initially I never considered using binaural beats as the music has a direct effect on brain waves. Id always thought of it as occultic but then considered how as christians we submit ourselves daily to stress and worry without consent in the workplace. Is it so wrong to consent to relaxation etc using binaural techniques? Surley God created sound and different frequencies. Is it therefore so wrong to use it for spiritual exercise.

 

[Faulty]

This type of music enables the brain to relax and opens up other areas which can be helpful in enhancing spiritual experience,- which after all is surley what we do every time we pray.

No it doesn't. The Bible teaches that we already have his ear and can come boldly before His Throne through faith. There is nothing we can do to enhance that access.

What it does do is make a person 'feel' closer to God, which is just simply that, a feeling. They are not actually any closer to God during the music than they were before the music.

So if it makes a person 'feel' closer to God, but they are actually not any closer at all, then that would make the music a form of a deception, and those engaging in it to be more apt to seek other feelings or experiences or signs of God, and quite honestly, Jesus said those who seek such things are acting in wickedness (Mt 16:4, Lk 11:29).

That's not to say these beople are in themselves wicked, it is just a wicked pursuit. They could most certainly be genuine believers, but not as mature yet as they should strive to be and we need to be careful not to place any manmade stumbling blocks in their path. Please be very careful in this, for if any of us should cause a new believer to fall, it would be better for us if we had died instead (Mt 18:6, Mk 9:42, Lk 17:2).

My 2 cents.

Initially I never considered using binaural beats as the music has a direct effect on brain waves. Id always thought of it as occultic but then considered how as christians we submit ourselves daily to stress and worry without consent in the workplace. Is it so wrong to consent to relaxation etc using binaural techniques? Surley God created sound and different frequencies. Is it therefore so wrong to use it for spiritual exercise.

If you question this technique, then that's a very good thing. Please don't try to rationalize it in your mind, but rather seek it out in the scripture as the authority. Our minds are weak and sinful and should not be thi final authority on any such matters.

 

[ARBITER01]

We worship GOD in spirit and in truth, both of which come from our heart, our very being.

While I have found that live worship music was constructive in a greater communication/worship connection with GOD, I have never considered it the end-all-be-all of how I communicate with GOD. I spend more time just praying in The Spirit rather than trying to find some way to relax or shut down my thoughts through music somehow.

Worship of GOD involves our whole being in correct order before HIM.

I can have days where I spend hours and hours in this sort of prayer and The Holy Spirit has never prompted me to even consider the soaking prayer techniques that some promote. For me, it is right that you are questioning it.

 

[MrBojangles]

I have used similar techneques simply to relax my mind. IMHO the brain is nothing but an interface to the soul. The brain is not the soul. It is just a part of your body. We do all sorts of things to our bodies to be healthy including diet, exercise, topical applications, cleansing habits, etc etc. Soothing music is just one more thing we do to our body (brain). In no way shape or manner do these things bring us closer to God or change our spirit or change our relationship with God. All the music does for me is to calm my mind. I have one particular recording that is nothing more than the letters of the name Yeshuah (Hebrew for Jesus) spelled out over and over in song "Jod .... Hey .... Shin ... Vau ... Hey." This is repeated over and over for about 72 minutes. It is very easy to go to sleep with this. I just meditate on Jesus, pray, sing along, and doze off to sleep. It does relax me and what better thing to relax to than the name of Jesus! It is certainly better than reading a spy novel or watching Conan.
I see nothing wrong with this, and trying to condemn it for religious reasons is just as bad as trying to promote it as some sort of spiritual enhancer. It is neither and it is, IMHO, superstition to suggest it is anything other than something that effects our physical man.

 

[Tamara224]

I use binaural beats to tune my violin. Well, sort of.

 

[KleinerApfel]

If it's evil to use music to help us in worship or contemplation of the Lord, then the psalmists were in trouble! To say nothing of the musicians who walked ahead of the army in the OT.
And what about almost every single Spirit-filled church? Don't tell me the music isn't chosen and performed precisely to affect the emotional state and receptivity of the minds of those present.

If music relaxes us, helps us feel calm and expectant as we ponder God's goodness and loving presence, then that is a blessing.

Binaural beats are simply a discovery that has enhanced the ability of musicians to create sounds which affect the brain more specifically and/or predictably than many other usual methods.

I don't think there is any connection with the occult, it just is what it is.
Of course, that doesn't mean occultists would not use or abuse the existence of such a phenomenon or claim it for themselves, and then if we Christians run screaming from the room we'll lose something that could bless us won't we?

 

[Alex-C-L]

The Lord Is My Banner, your viewpoint is how I am starting to see things. Binaural beats however do go beyond worship or rythmic soaking music. The beats can produce altered states and some have even claimed facilitated OBEs. How altering the brain through sound can effect the spirit I have no idea but this is the claim.

 

[Gregory Thompson]

I think all this experimentation of the pineal gland stimulation is a little dangerous to be just throw out to the masses and say .. go experiment and enjoy . but i guess the alternative of being close minded to the spiritual is worse . some balance would be nice eventually .

 

[Gregory Thompson]

But i guess if it helps people be one like Jesus and the Father are . then . maybe it has a purpose after all .

 

[Feelgood]

Hi. Research shows that there are powerful benefits of brain wave entrainment therapy. Based on biofeedback research, and clinically proven, brain wave programs are used in hospitals and recommended by doctors and psychologists throughout the world.

Science has shown that depending on our mind state our brains emit different frequencies. Apparently muscical sounds can influence our mind state.

13–40 Hz are Beta waves Active, busy or anxious thinking and active concentration, arousal, cognition

7–13 Hz are Alpha waves Relaxation (while awake), pre-sleep and pre-wake drowsiness

4–7 Hz are Theta waves Dreams, deep meditation, REM sleep

4 Hz are Delta waves Deep dreamless sleep, loss of body awareness

So the issue is not in the sound but if subliminal messages are attached to the
sounds. That's where the concern will be. If anybody has knowledge on this please advise your thoughts. If it is safe in a Godly sense? There are certain commercially sold products out there like Quantum Mind Power, Brain Sync.
I'd really appreciate informed answers. Thanks.

 

[Gregory Thompson]

Hi. Research shows that there are powerful benefits of brain wave entrainment therapy. Based on biofeedback research, and clinically proven, brain wave programs are used in hospitals and recommended by doctors and psychologists throughout the world.

Science has shown that depending on our mind state our brains emit different frequencies. Apparently muscical sounds can influence our mind state.

13–40 Hz are Beta waves Active, busy or anxious thinking and active concentration, arousal, cognition

7–13 Hz are Alpha waves Relaxation (while awake), pre-sleep and pre-wake drowsiness

4–7 Hz are Theta waves Dreams, deep meditation, REM sleep

4 Hz are Delta waves Deep dreamless sleep, loss of body awareness

So the issue is not in the sound but if subliminal messages are attached to the
sounds. That's where the concern will be. If anybody has knowledge on this please advise your thoughts. If it is safe in a Godly sense? There are certain commercially sold products out there like Quantum Mind Power, Brain Sync.
I'd really appreciate informed answers. Thanks.

13–40 Hz - hmm this is a state of mind i try to avoid . but inevitably come back during transition periods .

7–13 Hz - Most days . pretty safe . good for the heart .

4–7 Hz - I like days like that . but it takes time cultivate an ability to think rationally during this state to bring back anything useful to those in the top category .

4 Hz - i sometimes experience "loss of body awareness" in intense spiritual warfare . i would not recommend this . as unless the mind of Christ is active and working within your new nature self . you might die if in this state while awake . i would attribute this state to "forgetting" how to breathe and sometimes even have to sit down because my mind forgot how to walk or dispense natural painkillers to the body .

 

[heron]

Compare this to God's instruction to take a day of rest each week -- we might not need this so badly if we paid attention to the original plan. (Preaching to myself.)

 

[Gregory Thompson]

Well .. God only takes one every 6000 years but in proportion . yes

i would say . rest as much as you can . i have been amazed at the blessing it has become .

 

[Feelgood]

It's way deeper than just getting rest. In general the left and right hemispheres of your brain process information in different ways. We tend to process information using our dominant side. However, the learning and thinking process is enhanced when both side of the brain participate in a balanced manner. This means strengthening your less dominate hemisphere of the brain. Certain frequencies apparently create more of a balance. Intelligence = Increased IQ, ability to create, ability to be a better you. Scientific fact apparently. The concern might be if some body feeds your brain sinister subliminal messages at certain frequencies. I say know what you are getting into our leave it alone. I'd be interested to hear other peoples experiences or serious thoughts about this stuff.

 

[Gregory Thompson]

But i use my whole brain at once . there is no left or right back or front .

well for me anyway .

hope you find the serious answers you're looking for .

 

[Feelgood]

Hi Thanks for your reply. I almost missed your earlier comment. This is quite a shocking thing. When you say spiritual warefare what exactly does that mean?
Might die? Does that mean you went into Delta while still awake? Scary stuff!
__________________________________________________________
4 Hz - i sometimes experience "loss of body awareness" in intense spiritual warfare . i would not recommend this . as unless the mind of Christ is active and working within your new nature self . you might die if in this state while awake . i would attribute this state to "forgetting" how to breathe and sometimes even have to sit down because my mind forgot how to walk or dispense natural painkillers to the body .

 

[Gregory Thompson]

Hi Thanks for your reply. I almost missed your earlier comment. This is quite a shocking thing. When you say spiritual warefare what exactly does that mean?
Might die? Does that mean you went into Delta while still awake? Scary stuff!
__________________________________________________________
4 Hz - i sometimes experience "loss of body awareness" in intense spiritual warfare . i would not recommend this . as unless the mind of Christ is active and working within your new nature self . you might die if in this state while awake . i would attribute this state to "forgetting" how to breathe and sometimes even have to sit down because my mind forgot how to walk or dispense natural painkillers to the body .

yeah . sometimes when it happens . i feel like i can't feel my body and somehow i'm walking around . even though i cannot percieve the electric link between my brain my body . and it feels like .. if i don't come back soon i'll soon be no more . (but maybe i was just panicking because i was "not feeling" a lot where i was used to routine pain and other stuff . like the uncomfortable silence when it is too quiet) i think the last time i gave some money to a homeless guy and felt more "substantial" at that point . but dunno what that has to do with it .

regarding spiritual warfare what i mean is .. it goes beyond angels and demons . its like i'm in the sea of souls and people's very thoughts strike out at me . like the roaring waves against the seashore at sundown .

When there are sharp disagreements its like their disagreement is happening within me also . multiply that by about a hundred people and .. well how are they supposed to know or care?

its like the lower the frequency the more keyholes i can fit into . type thing .

but . i've developed quite a bit over the past year and it isn't so bad . but i guess the delta state is about as volatile as the beta state just on the different side of the spectrum .

 

[Gregory Thompson]

And then there was that time my nervous system got nuked by some fiery substance and my natural painkillers were knocked out for about a week .

and this time i left a worship service and i realized i had to sit down . i could not walk . but somehow my spirit knew how . it was really interesting . i feel like i've been fighting this other force for control of my body for a long time .

and a lot of the "advances" on my side are learning to live without or with as little use of electromagnetic energy in my body . which reminds me of the time my body tried to electrocute me with my own neurology . it was quite the turbulent time getting here .

 

[Gregory Thompson]

but now its like the deadly stuff of last year are just ripples in the ocean . and maybe i'm bigger or just transcended them or something . it was quite a unique road .

 

[Gregory Thompson]

Spiritual warfare .. hmm hard to say . its like demons using people (and sometimes even christian people) to attack me using the unity bonds described in the Gospel of John . (I am in the Father and the Father is in Me .. may they be one as we are) but not directly attacking me so i cannot rebuke them directly . so it becomes a real bloodbath in the spiritual . i hate such memories . division whether i am beta conscious of it or not is so hurtful .

but i guess i know how to better avoid it now .