We want to get out of our heads and into our hearts because God does not live in our heads. Ephesians 3:17 tells us that Jesus lives in our hearts and John 7:37-39 tells us that rivers of living water—the Holy Spirit—flow from deep within. As believers, we know that our spirit is joined with Holy Spirit deep down in our innermost being (1 Cor. 6:17).
Therefore, we want to live from our hearts and our spirits, from down deep, from our union with God there. When we are in this sacred place, scientifically speaking, we are in the alpha brainwave state. As you are wide awake, reading these words, and engaging your mind, you are in the faster analytical beta brainwave state. However, just as you fall asleep at night, and just as you wake up in the morning, you are in the alpha brainwave state.
This slower frequency state is more meditative and reflective. When we are not quite sure if we are awake or asleep, the veil between the physical world and spiritual world is very thin and we are in the alpha brainwave state. We are also in the alpha and theta brainwave frequencies when we dream.
While science calls this alpha brainwaves, Scripture calls it being “in spirit.” Jesus told us to “worship in spirit” (Jn. 4:24). John said, “I was in spirit on the Lord’s day” and met with God (Rev. 1:10ff). Again, he said, “I was in spirit” and proceeded to see Father’s throne and all manner of heavenly vision (Rev. 4:2ff). He was not in his head. He was in his heart. He wasn’t in beta. He was in alpha, and that is when his spiritual senses were opened wide to see and hear the mysteries of the Kingdom.
We see then how dreams are an effective communicative medium with Heaven. When we receive dreams, our analytical mind is out of the way, and we are able to receive a pure flow of revelation straight from Father’s heart to ours.
Indeed, Scripture reveals that when we are asleep, our heart is awake to commune with our Beloved (Song of Sol. 5:2). Dreams are God’s contingency plan to ensure He always has a way to connect with us. Father knows that the best time to get our undistracted attention is during sleep – when we are “in spirit” – that is, in those slower brainwaves.
The Shift – Slowing Our Brainwaves
But what about when we are awake? Obviously, we want to receive heavenly revelation all day long, too. Are there any other ways we can position ourselves to receive more readily from the supernatural realm? Absolutely! Just like the reflection on a cellphone or computer screen—different angles and amounts of light illuminate what is being shown. When there are high levels of light in the room, we need to increase the brightness of the display in order to see more than just reflections on the screen.
In a similar way, we can increase the brightness of the visionary screen inside our hearts. We do this by moving into the alpha brainwave state. Science has demonstrated there are practical and proven ways we can slow down our brainwaves. Founder of Impact Ministries, Dr. James Richards shares several in his book, Moving Your Invisible Boundaries:
"It is interesting that so many of the physical forms of worship tend to slow down our brainwaves. Music is very instrumental in effecting our brainwaves. Chanting, which is done in many of the Psalms and is actually used in the Hebrew language to describe worship, slows the brainwaves. Rolling our eyes up, as if looking to heaven, rocking, singing songs with repeated rhythmic patterns, bowing, dancing and pretty much all of the physical expressions of praise and worship, slow the brainwaves.
"When this happens we think that God, who lives way off in heaven has suddenly been appeased to such a degree that He graces us with His presence. But the truth is just the opposite; God, who lives in us and is always expressing Himself to us, is finally realized by the shift in our awareness. We begin to experience what He has been expressing all along!"
This is similar to how the discipline of fasting helps us tune in to hear from God. It is not that He is speaking more clearly when we fast; it’s simply that we have positioned ourselves to hear Him better. So it is with these various ways to worship and meditate: They don’t change God; they change us!
We instinctively do many of these things to naturally quiet down an upset baby. We rock them gently, sway back and forth, and sing songs to them. We know these are effective ways to settle down a child, and now we recognize that they are also effective ways to quiet ourselves down, to settle us into our hearts and spirits.
Biblical Examples
We see this exemplified in Scripture with the prophet Elisha. When he wanted to receive a revelation from God he also used the tool of music: “‘But now bring me a minstrel.’ And it came about, when the minstrel played, that the hand of the LORD came upon him” and he received a prophetic word to declare (2 Kings 3:15ff).
While it may go without saying, closing our eyes is obviously another simple and effective way to shift our awareness from the external to the internal. This also moves us down into that alpha state of spiritual sensitivity, so that we are less distracted by the outer world and more focused on the Kingdom within.
In Joshua 1:8, God told Israel’s new up-and-coming leader how to be successful. The secret? Biblical meditation. Meditation moves us to the alpha/spirit level, giving us a greater sensitivity and awareness of the sacred supernatural. Soft soaking music and visionary prayer are excellent tools for this. My dad and I unpack the extraordinary gift of meditation in our book on Kingdom emotions, and you are welcome to experience the New Creation Celebration Meditations available free on his ministry website.
Another extremely efficient way I have found to quiet myself down is through Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT). EFT, or “tapping” as it is often called, has been scientifically documented to consistently slow down our brainwaves, bringing us into a place of calm and rest. It moves us from beta to alpha quickly and effortlessly, thus moving us from our heads to our hearts.
As a predominantly left-brain teacher, I naturally live in my head, therefore, I must manually shift gears and intentionally slow down into my heart. Hundreds of studies show the near-miraculous benefits of tapping, and I personally use it as a tool to move me into my heart zone.
Again, because Jesus lives in my heart, I endeavor to live from my heart and the springs of His River of Life that flow from there (see Prov. 4:23). Praying in tongues also moves us into the alpha state making us more aware of the spiritual realm and our connection to it. Supernatural leaders such as Sid Roth and Mahesh Chavda testify that their commitment to praying in the Spirit an hour a day unleashed tremendous power and anointing through their ministries.
Indeed, I have found that singing in the Spirit is one of the quickest ways for me to become aware of God’s peace and presence. When we sing and pray in tongues, our spirit is praying (1 Cor. 14:14-15). Our spirit is one with Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 6:17). So we are connecting with Holy Spirit and allowing Him to pray with and through us (Rom. 8:26-27).
Lastly, the simple exercise of breathing deliberately and deeply will quickly quiet us into our hearts. The word for "spirit" and "breath" are the same in the original languages the Bible was written in. That means when it says John was "in spirit on the Lord's day," it could have just as accurately been translated, John was "in breath on the Lord's day." Indeed, scientific research has shown that slow, deep breathing shifts our brainwaves, calming us down into an alpha brainwave state.
Spiritual Top 10
In summary, when we want to become more keenly aware of the spiritual realm that is all around us and perceive more clearly the supernatural world that permeates and infuses this natural world, we can simply slow down our brainwaves. There are steps we can take to proactively posture ourselves to easily move from beta to alpha, thus effectively moving from our head to our heart. These include:
- Closing our eyes
- Looking up / rolling eyes upward as if looking toward heaven
- Rocking or swaying back and forth
- Bowing and dancing
- Speaking in tongues
- Singing in tongues
- Breathing deeply
- Practicing emotional freedom technique (tapping)
- Listening to soaking instrumental music
- Meditating, which includes using our godly imagination
It is encouraging to realize supernatural encounter doesn’t need to be an entirely sovereign experience where we have to wait around for a blinding light to knock us to the ground.
It is exciting to understand that in Him we live and move and have our being and that Holy Spirit’s life and love can be felt any time and all the time, whenever we want.
It is empowering to know that there are many simple things we can do to get “in spirit” and continually experience the peace, power and presence of Heaven that is as near as our next breath.
Going Deeper Activation
Have you used all ten ways listed above to quiet yourself down into your heart? Which ones have you found to be most effective? Are there any that God is highlighting for you to try right now?
Connect to the flow of His River within and purpose to practice His presence by relaxing into your spirit, remembering your oneness, and resting in your union with Him.
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