According to a recent study published in Trends in Plant Science, your houseplants have eyes. So does the cabbage you ate for dinner. Well, technically they are very basic “eyespots,” but either way what we’re talking about is visionary vegetation. At first glance, the idea seems a bit odd. And yet, it’s not new to the science arena. It’s an idea that has been proposed by many different researchers, even dating as far back as 1907.
This is how ideas, in general, seem to work: they exist in a collective sphere that we tap into when the time is right. Which could explain why several individuals may tap into the same idea, as with Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque and Cubism, and Isaac Newton, Robert Hooke and gravitation.
Speaking of tremendous insights…you know how in cartoons we draw abubble above a character’s head,
and put a thought or insight in it? What if we’ve got it wrong, and the bubble doesn’t come first but the idea does; what if the idea is out there all along and one day, for whatever reason, the character captures it to form his own bubble?
This would mean that we’re all regularly surrounded by great ideas and imaginings… in addition to the ones we already access. So, in addition to the favorite tunes already played by your brain, how can you access all these others? Tune-out and, simultaneously, tune-in. Presenting: your theta brain waves.
Our brain is an electromagnetic marvel emitting beta, alpha, theta, delta, and gamma waves. Each wave represents a unique state of consciousness and, correspondingly, operates at a different frequency (frequency refresher from prior newsletter here). Your theta brain waves, measured at 4-7 Hz, represent that beautiful state you reach just before entering sleep and right as you exit it …the meditative place where you can feel great peace, gain brilliant insights, and embrace profound creativity. That place where your version of the Theory of Universal Gravitation awaits.
Plenty of neurofeedback machines and programs exist to help you reach and maintain a theta state, just as there are binaural beats, metronomes – and more – toward the same goal. That said, on a very practical level you can also meditate in the comfort of your own home and, if you are new to the practice, get started with some of UCLA’s free resources here.
Once you establish a regular practice you will open and connect to new parts in, above, below, inside and around you. Imaginings, insights, and ideas that you were not previously privy to. And, yes, as with everything from eating healthily to standing straight-ily it takes practice. But in my experience the benefits are fully worth the effort. Just remember that a “successful” meditation practice starts by showing-up for it. And, at the very least, your plants will be there to watch the show 😉