Awakened mind
What is the Awakened Mind?
"The awakening of awareness is like gradually awakening from sleep and becoming more and more vividly aware of everyday reality - only it's everyday reality from which we are awakening!"
Max Cade wrote those startling words in his ground-breaking book, The Awakened Mind: Biofeedback and the Development of Higher States of Awareness. Cade was a distinguished British government physicist who revolutionized radar and extended his understanding of light and sound into the field of mind research. As a master hypnotist, Zen meditation master, and secretary of the British Society for Psychical Research, this scientist and mystic recognized that all things including the brain and body are composed of the frequencies of light.
En 1976, Cade co-inventó con el ingeniero electrónico Geoffrey Blundell el Mind Mirror EEG, un analizador de espectro compuesto único.
Nothing like the Mind Mirror had existed before, and there is still nothing else like it today.
The Mind Mirror enabled Cade to explore and map the brainwave patterns of more than four thousand people from the 1970s into the 1990s. His studies on the brainwaves of meditation and higher states of awareness led to the publication of his classic book, The Awakened Mind, and the field of EEG-led biofeedback meditation.
Anna Wise
Humanistic psychologist Anna Wise worked closely with Cade and Blundell on their London mind research from 1973 until 1981, when she carried a Mind Mirror to the United States. For the next 30 years she conducted research of her own, wrote books, recorded meditations, and led brainwave training seminars at California’s Esalen Institute, the oldest human potential center in the United States. In 2001, she implemented the Awakened Mind Practitioner Training Program. In a paper handed out to students of the Anna Wise Center, she wrote:
“What sets the Mind Mirror apart from other forms of electroencephalography was the interest, on the part of its developer, not in pathological states (as in the case of medical devices), but in an optimum state called the Awakened Mind.
Instead of measuring subjects with problems, the inventor of the Mind Mirror sought the most highly developed and spiritually conscious people he could find. In the flicker of their brainwaves, he and his colleagues found a common pattern, whether the subject was a yogi, a Zen master or a healer.”
In America, Wise measured the brainwaves of a broader range of subjects at the peak of their creative output. Artists, executives, scientists, mathematicians, and inventors at the height of their abilities all produced the same pattern. She found that the Awakened Mind was the optimum state of consciousness regardless of an individual’s mind or the direction of his or her personal path.
“Put as simply as possible, this distinct and visible pattern is produced by adding more relaxed, imaginative alpha waves to the beta of ordinary thinking, and by also awakening the slower theta waves associated with deep meditation, creativity, and access to the subconscious, as well as the delta radar of intuition and empathy.
The Awakened Mind pattern describes a symphony of brainwaves, with each frequency playing its own characteristic part. The score of this symphony can be seen as a template against which an individual’s brainwave pattern can be measured and assessed.”
Visit this page to read an in-depth biography of Anna Wise
Click this link to watch a four-part video of Anna Wise teaching at a NeuroTech Forum in 1992.
New Discoveries in Consciousness Expansion
Today, the Awakened Mind practitioners Wise trained from 2001 to 2009–and the practitioners they are training–are making discoveries of their own. New discoveries arise out of the vastness of their interests, their rich experiences with clients and subjects, and the advanced technology of the research-grade Vilistus Mind Mirror 6.
Consequently, the Mind Mirror and awakened mind training are still on the leading edge of global mind research and consciousness development. And their clients and students are awakening and evolving faster and more efficiently than ever before.
We welcome you to join our spiritual effort to transform consciousness
Our mission is to connect everyone with the boundless reservoir of peace, creativity and wisdom flowing in the meditative subconscious mind. Getting in touch with it illuminates us and our world.
What can I gain from awakening my mind?
What is the goal of personal transformation?
What are the benefits of EEG-led Awakened Mind meditation?
How do I awaken my mind?
Meditation and Brainwave Patterns
Meditation is a gentle descent into lower, slower brainwave frequencies, grouped into five categories — from high-frequency gamma to low-frequency delta. These categories, and the corresponding brainwave patterns, are explained below. They show how the mind shifts into meditative and non-dual states described in the Table of Subjective Landmarks. If you don’t have access to a certified Awakened Mind trainer or a Mind Mirror, you can use the Table of Subjective Landmarks to track your progress. After each session, simply compare your felt states of awareness with the descriptions in the Table and note your depth on the 0–6 Lesh scale. By journaling your experiences and Lesh numbers, you’ll see what supports or blocks your practice — leading step by step toward meditative mastery.
GAMMA (30-100 Hz)
Associated with high attentional awareness, superlearning, compassion, transcendence, spiritual ecstasy. Increases coherence in the brain.
BETA (30-14 Hz)
The conscious mind of active, external, verbal thought. Logic and analysis, list-making and decision-making.
ALPHA (14-8 Hz)
Relaxed, sensory awareness; daydreaming; imaging. Bridge from the conscious to the subconscious mind.
THETA (8-4 Hz)
The subconscious mind of long-term memory, creativity, insight, spirituality, dreaming sleep.
DELTA (4-0.5 Hz)
Personal unconscious, a door to universal awareness. Empathy and psychic awareness; dreamless sleep
The meditative descent into higher awareness
ORDINARY CONSCIOUSNESS – the Normal Waking State
The beta waves of random thinking and mind chatter (top of the pattern), no mid-range alpha or theta, delta’s radar-like empathy or psychic awareness, present in most people (bottom of the pattern).
CATEGORY 0
Beta begins to reduce (dotted lines), intermittent flares of alpha bridge and deeper subconscious theta, Delta still present.
CATEGORY 1
Reduced beta, intermittent but stronger flares of alpha, no theta, delta still present.
CATEGORY 2
Highly reduced beta, continuous alpha, intermittent theta, possible flashes of imagery related to subconscious memories.
CATEGORY 3
Light but relatively stable meditation, highly reduced beta and continuous alpha, possibly more continuous theta, with increased mental focus and concentration
CATEGORY 4
Continuing and strengthening meditation state, highly reduced beta, continuous alpha, Increased theta.
CATEGORY 5
The Awakened Mind of creative flow and peak performance, Meditation pattern with quiet, rounded-in beta for problem-solving, characterized by strong intuitive insights into questions, issues and challenges.
The Qualities of Mastery
In The High-Performance Mind, Anna Wise describes awakened people as high achievers — often leaders in their fields. They live with excitement, creativity, and frequent “ah-ha” moments of joy and insight. In short: they are masters of their minds and their lives.
According to Wise, mastery means being able to access the right state of consciousness for the moment, in order to achieve a desired goal.
Mastery develops in two steps:
- Cultivating the Awakened Mind pattern
- Using it for personal and spiritual transformation
From there, the brain/mind can amplify itself into:
- The Evolved Mind: whole-brain synchrony of bliss, unity, illumination, and ecstasy
- The Superconscious Mind: gamma frequencies of awareness, compassion, transcendence, and mystical union
- Cosmic Consciousness: universal gamma frequencies of limitless connection
No matter their background, awakened people devote themselves to conscious evolution: quieting the mind, going within, and turning challenges into opportunities.
What does mastery feel like?
Mind Mirror inventor Max Cade put it simply:
“In awakening more fully to inner, outer, and universal realities, we fall in love with our true self, nature, and all of life.”
Awakened people feel joy, clarity, and freedom — with higher perspectives that dissolve fear, judgment, and conflict. Life becomes abundant, creative, and full of possibility.
In essence, awakened people are warm, balanced, and compassionate. They don’t try to control others but live in loving service to humanity and universal consciousness.
Characteristics of a fully awakened person
- Living fully in the present moment
- Heightened intuition and steady insights
- Compassion, empathy, and non-judgment
- Deep appreciation of nature, art, and life
- Rewarding relationships without attachment or dependency
- The ability to resolve conflicts peacefully
- Freedom from roles, status, and external validation
- Frequent peak experiences and lucid dreams
- A natural sense of flow — knowing what to do next and how
- Devotion to contemplation and the inner world of spirit
- Awareness of a benevolent universal force
British biophysicist C. Maxwell Cade, inventor of the Mind Mirror, described silent meditation as physical stillness combined with the absence of thought. Researchers classify this as the Fourth State of Consciousness.
Using the Mind Mirror EEG, Cade discovered a higher state — the Awakened Mind. This Fifth State of Consciousness develops naturally through silent meditation, creative work, and active practices for inner discovery, healing, and transformation.
Can anyone learn to meditate?
Yes. Meditation is simply a matter of slowing the breath, quieting the mind, and shifting into lower brainwave frequencies.
- The Mind Mirror self-training program gives you feedback so you know exactly when you’ve reached the right state.
- You can also learn without technology: with steady practice, anyone can reach meditation’s calm, open flow of awareness.
Teach yourself
- Sit comfortably with feet flat on the floor.
- Set an intention or mantra (e.g. “I am calm and peaceful”).
- Relax your tongue to still inner chatter.
- Slow your breath and keep awareness on it.
- Engage your senses — imagine yourself in a natural setting, see, hear, and feel it.
- When thoughts return, gently repeat your mantra.
- End by noticing a word, image, or feeling that captures your state of awareness.
Tip: Start with 20 minutes a day. Use the free Heart of Meditation audio below if you need support.
Guided meditations
- Listen to free meditations recorded by Cade and later by Judith Pennington, designed to quiet the mind and awaken higher awareness.
- With regular practice, the brainwave pattern of meditation carries over into daily life — bringing more clarity, creativity, intuition, and connection.
- Try the 10-minute guided meditation by Judith Pennington (below), based on Cade–Wise principles, to enter alpha–theta states and gain personal insights.
Benefits
- Balances and synchronizes the brain’s hemispheres.
- Brings clarity, focus, and sharper thinking.
- Connects the brain and nervous system for better self-healing.
- Opens the flow of insight, creativity, and peak performance.
- Leads to the Awakened Mind pattern — a state of coherence, flow, and higher awareness.
Are there any risks?
For most people, meditation is safe and healing.
However, if you live with epilepsy, heart disease, psychosis, severe depression, trauma, or addiction, always consult a doctor first. Deep meditation can sometimes stir up unresolved memories. In that case, work with a certified Awakened Mind Practitioner or psychotherapist for guidance.
Tune in to our terrific webinar series!
Learn about the Mind Mirror, the Awakened Mind, the evolution of consciousness and much more by tuning in to our monthly webinars. Watch a 10-minute video mix for a sample. Free!