Short spoken-word mini-chapter by Brian Johnson explaining brainwave states (beta, alpha, theta, delta), linking chronic high-beta (stress) to reduced immune function, and advocating brief daily meditation (12–15 minutes) to trigger Herbert Benson’s “relaxation response” and improve health. Mentions resources (blissitations.com) and ongoing coverage in the author’s series.
Chapters
Hi, this is Brian with another mini chapter from A Philosopher's Notes. This one's called Cleaning up the Gremlin Poop. Quick science lesson. Your brain has four primary beta, which is what you're in when you're actively thinking Alpha, you're there in mellow chillaxing states, and theta, which is what you're in when you're in REM sleep, and delta, which is what you're in when you're in deep dreamless sleep. Now, when you're super stressed, you're hanging out in high beta with cortisol and adrenaline and all the other stress gremlins out in force, weakening your immune system and overall mojo. Unfortunately, with the busyness of our modern lives, we spend way too much time in this fight or flight stress mode and our minds and bodies take a beating because of it. Research unequivocally shows that simple meditation practices for as little as 12 to 15 minutes a day can have huge positive results for us. As we close our eyes, breath, breathe deeply, and allow our minds to chillax, we go from beta to alpha while triggering what Herbert Benson, the preeminent Harvard MD and researcher, calls the relaxation response. When we hang out there, all the gremlin poop can be cleaned up and our health and vitality nurtured. So are you taking the time to scoop the gremlin poop? Get on that, Clean it up with some simple meditation practices. We're going to talk about this a lot more in the months and years and decades ahead. You can check out blissitations.com where Alexander and I are doing some cool work on this to help you get your meditation on for now. Hope you enjoyed. Look forward to sharing more with you soon. Have an awesome day. See you.
