We’ll, if you’re anything like me after a good weekend your facing laden bio-toxins from an extremely not so healthy weekend lifestyle. If you are Monsieur Mangetout (mr. Eat Metal) you will find 15 shopping carts, 7 television sets, 6 chandeliers, 2 beds, a pair of skis, a computer, and a Cessna light aircraft (no shit the guy digest metal). If you are a graphic designer you will more than likely find an emotional power house that will cringe at the site of beveled and embossed text or 20px drop shadows. Beyond the corny effects critic there lie a playground for instinct and intuition, an infinite source of totally irrational information that somehow magically inspires us in amazing ways when we least expect it. It’s better than sloppy kisses. So how do we cultivate these special moments and experience them more often, or better yet on demand? The answer is simple, so simple it actually requires thinking less, rather than thinking more.

Out with the Beta in with the Alpha

Some of you may know what I am referring too while some of you probably think I’m talking about joining another fraternity. Allow me to enlighten ye college beer guzzling brethren. The brain is an electrochemical organ that emanates 4 different waves of electrical activity. We have come to know these waves as Beta, Alpha, Theta, Delta. We’ll start with the busiest of them all and work our way down. Right now you are engaged in reading which makes you alert and working to some extent which puts you in a Beta state of mind. Anyone engaged in debate, public speaking, conversation, teaching, etc. . . are experiencing beta brain functioning. Beta wave frequency measures on an EEG anywhere from 15 cycles per second to 40 cycles per second with a very low amplitude. The next category of brain waves marches to a slightly slower beat and are refered to as Alpha waves. Alpha waves are experienced when one is relaxing, reflecting or meditating. The Alpha frequency ranges from 8-12 cycles per second with a greater amplitude. Theta wave frequencies are even slower running between 4-7 cycles per second with an even larger amplitude. By the time we start experiencing theta waves we may be feeling slightly drowsy, right on the edge of sleep. And the last category of brain wave functioning is Delta waves. Delta waves normally range from 2-3 cycles per second with an extremely large amplitude. Your mind falls into a delta state every night during deep sleep.

We as designers should be interested in the alpha waves. When you take a time out from your work to reflect, meditate or take a break from activity you are better able to access your alpha waves and give your sub conscious mind a chance to do it’s job. If you are constantly in a beta state of mind then your conscious mind will continue seeking an answer through an analytical process which leaves no room for spontaneity or the creative magic to happen. There are several meditation techniques available to make accessing alpha state of mind easier. . . One I use personally is focus on breath. On inhale I silently think the sound soooo, on exhale hummm. . . Ok, now go try it. And reap the benefits of a calm collect mind.