a deeper exploration of the ajna light

by ben kennedy

here is part 2. read part 1 first.

this post is a much deeper exploration of the ajna light and it is for informational purposes only. personal experimentation should be done using your own judgement of your unique physiology and mental health. i have spent over 100 hours on the light at this point focusing on the key states for me: alpha, theta and gamma waves. 

"wade out into more interesting internal space."

hafiz persian poet 14th century 

How can you describe the different frequencies?

if you've ever been diving, different brain wave states can feel like different areas of the ocean. beta : the surface of a rough sea - thoughts are waves in the ocean wash. alpha : the head is just under the waterline and you can still feel the current. theta : a few metres down, it's calmer and quieter with bright light from the sky shining through the ripples above. delta : deep down where the water is dark and notions of space and sensation slip away. gamma : a surge upward in the sky looking down on the ocean, a bird's eye view of the waves. lambda : in the universe looking down on the planet from space, in many ways very similar to delta in that it's dark and sensorily deprived, yet expansive beyond comprehension. exploring delta or lambda eventually evaporates into the same experience for me. 

How can I go deeper & intensify the experience?

breathing

i found using the following wim hof breathing technique was the best way to begin sessions under the light.

1. deeply inhale in as much as you can.

2. exhale as minimally as possible - just enough to facilitate the next inhale.

3. do this 30-40 times to oxygenate your bloodstream.

4. on the final breath exhale fully and then hold your breath for as long as possible.

5. when you have to breathe again, inhale and hold for a further 15 seconds.

6. do this for 3 rounds holding the breath longer each time.

after 3 rounds of this the colours and patterns will be radically enhanced.

eye movement

moving my eyes underneath my closed eyelids left and right during the light flashes created multiple after images across the horizontal plane of my visual field. up and down added the vertical leaving a ‘+’ shape of light diffusing across the darkness behind my closed eyes. with each successive flash a new set of after images was created. this accelerated the kaleidoscopic effect and saturated the patterns. it made the experience more energising and i left the session feeling like i had experienced gamma rather than my current setting of theta. 

If I can identify the different brainwave states will I be able to recognise moving between them in every day life?

i focussed exclusively on alpha for 15 hours using 60 minute sessions to identify moving from beta to alpha. modern life (excessive exposure to pollution, screens and advertising) forces the brain to stay in beta for longer than it should. this results in over stimulation causing the adrenals to pump too much cortisol into the system contributing to an overactive mind and feelings of anxiety. the relaxed state of alpha is so pleasurable it's fairly easy to recognise. it's also a 'semi-sleep' state which happens just before actual sleep. learning to identify an overactive mind in every day life allowed me to pause and calm down. it created a sense of ‘dropping back’, slightly slowing down and allowing things to happen. one can then observe events and consciously decide how to act, rather than automatically having knee jerk reactions to situations. in reality the brain is shifting between these states all the time, but the knowledge of being more frequently in this state under the light helped me to recognise the feeling more accurately. 

How can I use the light to help induce lucid dreams?

learn to identify the alpha state. the mind is much more suggestible at this point because it’s the stage just before you slip into sleep. using intentional phrases such as “i will remember to recognise when i'm dreaming” repeated as i was falling asleep in this stage dramatically increased the likelihood of becoming lucid. combine this with a cue in daily life such as asking yourself “am i dreaming?” when you check the time or walk through a doorway during the day and eventually you'll do this action in a dream and recognise the situation for what it is. to confirm you're dreaming, check the time or study your hands and look away before checking again. if they change significantly then you are! (for deeper understanding around this topic i recommend books by stephen laberge). if you're new to this, the first few times where you understand that you're dreaming, you may get so excited that you wake yourself up. if this happens, just as you feel yourself waking, ‘spin’ yourself in the dream. keep rotating your body 360 degrees around quickly and sometimes it can keep your awareness in the dream. i tried meditating in my lucid dreams. things really started to get interesting at that point… 

Can the light be used to accelerate mediation?

there are many different types of meditation, but they can be broadly divided into two main categories.

concentration practices

these use something as a specific object to focus on, whether that be the breath, a sound or a visualisation. when the mind wanders, attention is deliberately brought back to this object.the ajna light could be used as an object.

insight practices

this is the observation of whatever arises in consciousness at the specific moment in time whether that be the breath, sensations in the body or thoughts in the mind. it is distinctly different to concentration practice in that consciousness is being observed however it manifests, attention is not being used to focus on any particular aspect of phenomena. 

How can the light be used to develop concentration and precipitate insight?

i am currently practicing vipassana insight meditation and one of the most challenging aspects of this method is developing enough concentration to be able to witness thoughts as they arise without getting lost in them. using the light as a concentration object in the different frequencies was profoundly useful. seeing the frames of light flashing so quickly gave me the realisation that i can witness my mind thinking at this speed. suddenly observing my breath as an object became profoundly more precise. a single second would previously have consisted of two sensations; a feeling of breathing in at the tip of the nose, then a chest expanding feeling at the heart level of my torso. then the reverse breathing out. these were both observed at half a second. after many theta experiences on the light, i began to witness multiple fractions of rising sensations interspersed with sounds from the environment and thoughts of current issues in my life then back to expanding feelings in the chest. it went from two sensations to beyond ten - all within one second. it was like seeing the frames of experience flickering in and out of consciousness like a film in ultra slow motion. 

music is the space between the notes… 

the light speed also correlates to noticing other things in much greater detail. focusing on the vibrations of sound and the silence between the notes made music a profoundly deep experience. turning the lights off and listening to teardrop by massive attack becomes a near transcendent experience now. everything falls away and i become the music. minimal thoughts, just vibrations of pleasure moving through my body. anything can become a meditation object. even pain could be perceived this way as a series of changing sensations. for example on close inspection, my tonsillitis was experienced as a painful stabbing in my throat, then a slightly less painful sharpness, then a fear of the pain continuing, then a neutral feeling with no pain, then a sensation of hunger, then another painful stabbing, and so on. this created a way of relating to painful sensation which allowed some space between what 'i' was going through and how my mind was interpreting the immediate future. i was able to reduce the anxiety around the idea that my sore throat would persist or get worse — majorly reducing the overall discomfort associated to the experience. 

How can I use the light as a therapy tool to navigate difficult experiences?

i started my ajna sessions looking for specific, desirable results and the more I searched for these during deep theta sessions the less they materialised. this created a paradox in that i was doing the session for a reason, but only when i let that reason go did the results start to happen. for me, theta is much more about surrender than focus. the positive thing that came out of this was that i began to notice when i was doing this in everyday life - wanting something to happen and getting frustrated when it didn't immediately present itself. this was an exercise in letting go, after setting an intention just allowing things to unfold, rather than trying to force them. understanding that i needed to let things go conceptually was easy to understand and verbalise once i recognised it, but in practice very challenging to do on a visceral level. 

How can I use it to calm addictions?

sugar and social media are worse than crack. the desire for something sweet or fear of missing out provide such consistent dopamine hits in my brain that i’m often in what i suspect to be a perpetual beta state. i realise the more i'm exposed to alpha or theta, the more i need to be in these states for genuine insight and creative thought. however, the paradox is that the more i'm in beta, the more this feels like my default state and i quickly forget that other states are even possible. it’s critical to schedule practices that induce the desired states such as meditation, float tanks, yoga or using the ajna light. guy (the creator of the light) describes how alpha and theta are serotonin releasing states and movement towards these encourages more enlightened behaviour. biting nails - by training alpha and theta into a habitual pattern in the mornings it reduced general stress. when you close your eyes, if you concentrate closely you’ll find that the darkness behind your eyes is, in fact, illuminated. this subtle light is in a constant state of flux. it is in essence the ajna light, but in a very delicate form. whenever I found myself biting my nails, I substituted the behaviour by closing my eyes and focusing on the evolving patterns. then taking taking four deep breaths. this sometimes evolved the desire into a state of calm and allowed me to let the feeling go. practicing this increased the likelihood of relief. 

How much can the light reveal?

i was on my fourth 60 min default alpha setting (around 12 hours total using the light) and my eyes involuntarily opened half way and my eyes were streaming hot tears. the water formed droplets on my lashes which refracted the ajna light causing an intensified version of the strobes. my vision was a series of sensations of abstract colour flooding in from where my eye had partially opened and a background of shadow above where my lid remained half closed. i felt an orchestra of beauty and sadness running through my body and mind in patterns of sensate energy as the prismatic distortion overwhelmed my senses, drenched in curiosity and trepidation. the kaleidoscope was infusing body with mind and mind with body. words and concepts begin to fall away, leaving visceral feelings, emotional tone in a pattern of flowing energy. my mind shifted further and i began to see the world as a reflection of myself. everything and everyone became part of my being - everyone i loved i saw as an aspect of my consciousness which i cared for and all the hate and disgust with the world as a reflection of what i have not come to terms with yet. this was immensely inspiring and terrifying at the same time. 

i believe the light is a very powerful tool for exploring altered states of consciousness. it can open up both good and bad aspects of the subconscious, so it should be treated with the upmost respect. it has deepened my meditation practice in ways i could never have predicted, and i am extremely grateful to have been exposed to its potent healing properties.