Flow State Brainwave

Entrainment Guide
A introductory guide to deep focus, flow states and
consciousness hacking with brainwave entrainment.
“Control of consciousness,
determines quality of life.”

― Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
 What Is Flow?
“Flow is an optimal state of consciousness,
a state of mind where we feel and perform
our best.

It usually occurs when your body or mind is

stretched to its limit in a voluntary effort to
accomplish something difficult and
worthwhile.”

- Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Flow In Action
Flow is often referred to as being
“in the zone”.

It results from a highly focused state of

mind that leads to a state of immersion
in a challenging activity.

To find the activities that trigger flow

for you, answer yourself this question:
what makes me come alive?
The Flow Cycle
The process for consistently getting
into flow consists of 4 steps and it is
very similar to the creative process
involving similar shifts in your
brainwaves necessary to achieve new
insight and full immersion in an activity.

To get into the flow state, it is

important that you are pushing beyond
your comfort zone doing meaning and
challenging activities that use your
skills to your full capability.
 Stage #1: Struggle
What emotions do you feel in struggle?
To achieve a flow state you must choose a single-minded focus for a period of
time (at least 25 minutes) and then eliminate all distractions, interruptions and
multitasking.

In this initial struggle phase, most people get sidetracked by checking your
smartphone or compulsive multitasking because this provides regular pleasurable
stimulation in the form of instant gratification. This need for constant dopamine
helps to suppress boredom and anxiety but it also blocks flow.

You must learn to mindfully observe and allow your urges, anxieties and boredom
to arise and pass away without giving in to them and perpetuating this mindless
cycle of distraction, stress and procrastination.
 Stage #2: Release
What practices help you let go of thinking?
After sticking with a challenging activity without distraction for a period of time,
now you can release from the anxiety of struggle and analytical thinking into an
immersive flow state.

Release phase activities involve stepping away from your work or creative activity
and taking a relaxing break that induces alpha brain waves such as listening to
music, meditation, breathwork, mindful walking or having a tea.

The important thing about these mindful breaks is you must not do anything that
highly stimulates dopamine such as checking your smartphone, watching TV or
mindlessly scrolling. This constant stream of artificial dopamine will make it
difficult to let go and sustain the natural stream of dopamine necessary for flow.
 Stage #3: Flow
What meaningful & challenging activities trigger flow for you?
It’s one thing to enter a flow state briefly but you must master the discipline and
surrender of this 4-part process to sustain flow states to the point where you
completely lose yourself in your activity.

This is where mindful habits such as meditation and deep focus become so
important because if you’re constantly distracted and seeking easy dopamine hits
from instant gratification you will struggle to maintain single-minded focus.

The easiest way to sustain the brain waves of flow is by using brainwave
entrainment music to quiet the mind and achieve sensory immersion in your
chosen activity. This is a shortcut for people that struggle with controlling their
brain waves through visualization, breathwork and meditation.
 Stage #4: Recovery
What active recovery practices recharge you faster?

This may be the most important part of the Flow Cycle for most people. Without
disciplined active recovery practices, you won’t be able to sustain consistent flow.

Flow states involve a cocktail of our 5 most potent neurotransmitters: dopamine,

serotonin, norepinephrine, anandamide and endorphins. Without active recovery
practices to restore them, you will find yourself depleted, burnt out and unable to
pay attention long enough to achieve flow.

For active recovery, I recommend mindful walking, cold plunges, saunas, creative
dreaming, non-sleep deep rest, breathing exercises and quality time with others.
State Change
Experiencing more flow involves learning
to control your mental state to reduce the
chatter of anxiety and mastering the art of
state change.

State change involves shifting out of

compulsive thinking patterns by using
techniques such as meditation,
breathwork, visualization and brainwave
entrainment to slow your brain waves and
shift into a relaxed state of mind.
 Brain Waves
Understanding your brain waves can help
you get into flow and provide a window into
experientially and intuitively understanding
your different mental states as they arise.

There are 5 major states of consciousness

that can be measured by our brainwave
activity. They can each be trained by
meditation practices and brainwave
entrainment. Progress can be easily tracked
through recent advances in neurotech.
Brainwave
Entrainment
The easiest way to release from
overthinking, procrastination and
self-sabotage is to put on some
headphones and listen to brainwave
entrainment music.

It allows you to control your brain waves

without complicated meditation or flow
state induction practices so you can tune
your mind into the mental state you want
to be in at any given time.
1. 🎯 Beta Waves
 What Are Beta Brain Waves?

Beta is our state of normal waking consciousness

when we are thinking and doing most of our daily tasks.

Too much high frequency beta wave activity can keep us

stuck in stress loops of overthinking, distraction and negative
self-talk that can cause burnout.
 A Quick Overview of Beta Waves

Neurotransmitters: Dopamine and Norepinephrine

Too Much: Anxiety, High Arousal, Stress, Restlessness

Too Little: ADHD, Depression, Poor Cognition, Fatigue

Optimal Balance: Excellent Focus, Good Memory, Relaxed

Alertness, Improved Linear Problem-Solving Skills.
 Training Beta Waves To Enhance Focus:

Brainwave Protocol: SMR waves (12 – 15 Hz)

Training laser-like focus and reducing distractibility involves

reducing fast beta activity and increasing slow beta waves.
This can be trained through visualization and meditation
practices where we learn to develop a single-point of focus
while the body stays relaxed.
2. 🌈 Alpha Waves
 What Are Alpha Brain Waves?

Alpha is a state of relaxed alertness and an open state of

awareness where we shift out of identification with thoughts.

Alpha brain waves provide a bridge to the subconscious

mind and they increase when we become relaxed and
centered in our immediate experience.
 A Quick Overview of Alpha Waves

Neurotransmitters: Acetylcholine and Serotonin

Too Much: Daydreaming, Difficulty Focusing

Too Little: Anxiety, Stress, Insomnia, OCD

Optimal Balance: Improved Relaxation, Divergent Thinking,

Better Emotional Regulation, Flow, Accelerated Learning
 Training Alpha Waves To Enhance Creative Flow:

Brainwave Protocol: Alpha synchrony training (8 – 12 Hz)

Training the relaxed presence and release into immersive flow

of alpha involves using visualization, open focus spatial
awareness meditation practices and learning to turn off the
stress response using rhythmic breathwork training or
brainwave entrainment music.
3. 💭 Theta Waves
 What Are Theta Brain Waves?

Theta is a state of dreamlike creativity where imagery,

symbols and feelings bubble up freely from the
subconscious mind.

We can access these effortless states through self-hypnosis,

creative dreaming, flow states and deep meditation states.
 A Quick Overview of Theta Waves

Neurotransmitters: GABA

Too Much: ADHD, Depression, Hyperactivity, Impulsivity,

Inattentiveness.

Too Little: Anxiety, Poor Emotional Awareness, Stress.

Optimal: Relaxation, Creativity, Emotional Connection,

Improved Memory, Dream Recall, Sense of Unity
 Training Theta Waves To Enhance Active Dreaming:

Brainwave Protocol: Alpha-theta training (6 – 10 Hz).

Training the effortless presence of theta involves deep

meditation practices and tapping into liminal states
to experience a flow of imagery and symbols from the
subconscious mind to resolve trauma and reprogram
limiting beliefs.
4. 💤 Delta Waves
 What Are Delta Brain Waves?

Delta is strongest in deep dreamless sleep. During

sleep we go through 90-minute sleep cycles with about
10-25% of our time asleep spent in deep sleep (depending
on how balanced our nervous system is).

This is a transcendent state where our brains encode

memories and human growth hormone is released to
grow and repair muscles, organs and tissues.
 A Quick Overview of Delta Waves

Neurotransmitters: Serotonin

Too Much: Learning Disabilities, Brain Fog, Severe ADHD

Too Little: Chronic Fatigue, Elevated Inflammation Levels, Poor

Sleep Quality, Depression and Burnout

Optimal Balance: Deep Healing, Regeneration, Elevated

Anti-Aging Human Growth Hormone, Strong Empathy
 Training Delta Waves To Enhance Deep Sleep:

Brainwave Protocol: SMR waves training (12 – 15 Hz)

Delta waves during sleep can be increased by balancing

the nervous system with a combination of focused attention
practices, open heart meditations involving forgiveness and
compassion and increasing exposure to natural light in the
morning.
5. ⚡ Gamma Waves
 What Are Gamma Brain Waves?

Gamma waves are the fastest of all brain waves and they are
associated with learning, sudden flashes of insight and peak
experiences where all our brain waves synchronize together.

There is still much to be learned about gamma waves but

they are associated with higher states such as mystical
experiences and non-ordinary states of consciousness.
 A Quick Overview of Gamma Waves

Neurotransmitters: Dopamine, Serotonin, Acetylcholine

Too Much: Anxiety, Stress, Over-Stimulation, Poor Sleep

Too Little: Learning Difficulties, Memory Problems, Low Mood,

Poor Cognitive Functioning

Optimal Balance: Insight, Peak Concentration, Compassion,

Expanded Consciousness, Happiness
 Training Gamma Waves To Trigger Peak States:

Brainwave Protocol: Gamma synchrony training (40-50 Hz)

Gamma waves can be trained through deep embodiment

and walking meditation practices where we develop a deeper
sense of awe of the vastness and mystery of consciousness
and the natural world as well as brainwave entrainment music
to stimulate hyperfocused gamma.
The Flow State Brainwave
Entrainment System
Learn to control your brain waves using brainwave
entrainment so you can focus better, trigger
flow states and relax & recover more easily.

Learn More
About The Author
My name is Kyle Pearce.

I’m a learning experience designer and

mindful business coach who helps entrepreneurs
and tech professionals build mindful habits that stick.

Questions? Email me at [email protected]