Box Breathing
Hello everyone,
I have a question regarding box breathing. I created an audio file using the 6-6-6-6 method, where I guide myself to inhale, hold, exhale, and hold, each for 6 seconds. The original file was about 46 minutes long, and I tried it twice for around 20-30 minutes each time. However, I didn’t feel like I reached an altered state of consciousness.
As a side note, I also bought an AVS (audio-visual system) that uses light and sound to influence brainwaves. I didn’t experience much at first, but after creating a session lasting about three hours (progressing from beta to alpha to theta waves and remaining in theta), I began to feel my body go numb. I even sensed that my limbs were in different positions than they actually were. I also experienced what I call "no-man’s-land" – a state where I wasn’t fully conscious or asleep, just somewhere in between, only realizing this once I regained awareness. I’ve entered this state a few times using the AVS, but it's inconsistent.
The issue I face with the AVS is that it doesn’t always lead to altered states. Sometimes, nothing happens, and I feel like I’m wasting my time. I understand that this is because my baseline state isn’t relaxed enough. If I could reach a more relaxed or altered state beforehand, the AVS would likely be more effective in inducing trance states, helping me access them more easily on my own.
As for the breathing exercise, I didn’t notice much other than a very light trance-like energy flowing through my body. I’m unsure if this was due to the breathing or simply from lying flat on my back. In the past, I’ve practiced self-hypnosis and felt similar sensations just by lying down and doing nothing.
I asked ChatGPT how long it takes to reach theta brainwaves using box breathing, and it responded with:
“Beginners might notice relaxation within a few sessions, but experiencing deeper altered states could take weeks or even months of consistent practice.”
When I asked how long I should practice and how often, it advised:
"Beginners: Start with 5-10 minutes per session.
Intermediate: After a few weeks, increase to 15-20 minutes per session.
Advanced: As your practice deepens, extend sessions to 30 minutes or more, depending on comfort.
1-2 times per day is a good starting point. One session in the morning and one in the evening can be helpful. As you become more comfortable, you can try increasing to 2-3 sessions per day."
Currently, I’ve shortened the file to 22 minutes, which feels more comfortable for me, and I plan to practice a few times per day.
My question to the experienced members is: Is the information I received from ChatGPT accurate?
Simply put, yes, Chat GPT has given you good advice. You likely change between altered states throughout the day: when you go to sleep, wake up and turn your brain on, get excited with friends, get frustrated or angry, and etcetera. The difference here, however, is that you are trying to induce an altered state through meditation. Using tools such as sound and visual aids is good, but keep in mind that these are aids that you are trying to develop a relationship with. By themselves, if you are not already psychically/psychologically compatible with the aids, they may likely have little affect in doing so. However, over time, as you associate meditation and the act of inducing altered states with such tools, you will, like any animal in training, become more susceptible to the aids, inducing altered states more quickly. From there, you could, perhaps, in time, as you grow accustomed to those states, practice meditating without them. Altered states, especially for meditation and energy work, is more about letting go of the physical and psychic tension that is holding onto your current state. It is in the letting go that allows you to fall into the opening of your other senses.
First, we must learn to relax the muscles. This includes the small and subtle muscles, such as around the head, heart, and joints. Just relaxing the muscles and bones of the body is enough to shift you into a shallow altered state.
The act of relaxing your muscles actually teaches you how to find and relax psychic tension throughout the body. So, once you get good at relaxing the physical muscles, you can move on to relaxing the psychic muscle.
In your physically relaxed state, using intuition and your sense of body awareness, hunt around the being for places of psychic tension. This can include thoughts, emotions, impressions, desires, and even hormones, chemicals, inflammation, or pain that are preventing you from 'letting go' and allowing you to move deeper into altered states. All of which, through practice and exploration, you'll be able to let go in good time. Keep up the good work. I know it can be a bit nebulous and abstract at first, but you'll soon see and engage with the fascinating world within. All the best.