____twoism

Hey all. Maybe this has been discussed before, but I couldn't find another topic, so here goes...

Some of you probably know this already, but the brain tends to operate in specific states: Beta, Alpha, Theta and Delta (I know, they're not sequential...messes me up too). The Theta state is typically associated with meditative thought, deep relaxation, and moments of insight and spiritual awareness, etc.

Now, there's a mental phenomenon called entrainment (or brainwave syncronization) that essentially consists of the brain's capacity to adjust its internal state to external stimuli (binaural beats operate on this principal, as well as some forms of hypnosis). In other words: It's been proven that the brain can be induced into a particular state by external triggers, under the right circumstances.

Apparently, fire flickers within the same frequency range as Theta brainwaves. Some hypothesize that looking into a fire can help induce a Theta-range state of consciousness.

I have no idea if that's true, but I've had plenty of experiences that suggest it is. IE: I'm sure lots of you guys have also sat around a campfire with a group of friends, finding yourselves talking about things on deeper, more interconnected level than usual once the fire gets going. Anyone that's meditated with a candle as an object of focus can also attest to its effectiveness...I've found it's much easier to slip into a good, meditative state when I can focus on a flame.

Anyhow, when I first heard the title "The Campfire Headphase", that's what I thought of...a whole bunch of friends sitting around a fire, being lulled into a state of near-meditation and just connecting with each other through the flames. I have no idea if that's what BoC intended, but it fits the bill.

I'd love to hear any other theories out there, too.

Skytree wrote:IE: I'm sure lots of you guys have also sat around a campfire with a group of friends, finding yourselves talking about things on deeper, more interconnected level than usual once the fire gets going.

this experiment has consistently been spoiled by a correlation between campfires, pot and hard liquor.

turquoise70 wrote:

Skytree wrote:IE: I'm sure lots of you guys have also sat around a campfire with a group of friends, finding yourselves talking about things on deeper, more interconnected level than usual once the fire gets going.

this experiment has consistently been spoiled by a correlation between campfires, pot and hard liquor.

Hey I have had some fun times by a campfire while taken part in smoking some weed. I can see drinking liquor can spoil it though.

polar sky wrote: Hey I have had some fun times by a campfire while taken part in smoking some weed. I can see drinking liquor can spoil it though.

well that's what i mean. i've -only- had fun times smoking weed and drinking liquor by a campfire with friends. but by the time we're finished there's no way of knowing if it's the fire or the haze-headed madness that's causing us to talk deep/retarded. or deeptarded. sometimes we talk deeptarded. that's my favorite.

turquoise70 wrote:

polar sky wrote: Hey I have had some fun times by a campfire while taken part in smoking some weed. I can see drinking liquor can spoil it though.

well that's what i mean. i've -only- had fun times smoking weed and drinking liquor by a campfire with friends. but by the time we're finished there's no way of knowing if it's the fire or the haze-headed madness that's causing us to talk deep/retarded. or deeptarded. sometimes we talk deeptarded. that's my favorite.

Oooh, ok I see, haha.

Awesome theory, Skytree! It's rare that I learn something new which really fascinates me (due to the fact that I tend to research the heck out of almost EVERYTHING), but this article does. I've very familiar with the concept of brainwave entrainment (a couple of years ago I experimented using binaural audio files I created and had some pretty solid results).

My theory of the origin of the album's title is similar, if less developed: I always envisioned a group of people (friends and acquaintances) sitting/standing around a large campfire, simply bonding with one another, through both silence and talking. Just sort of staring into the flames, losing themselves in the flicker. If I'd known this information about the flicker of a campfire going at the alpha/theta range, I might have come up with the same idea.

How did you stumble across this article, or was it something you'd known for a while?

Berry, berry interesssteeeenk...

We usually imagine our music to have a visual element while we're writing it, so we were picturing this character losing his mind at the campfire and compressing weeks of events into a few hours, in that time-stretching way that acid fucks with your perception. – Michael Sandison

That was on Wikipedia.

came across this, on a similar subject: dreamachines:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dreamachine

The Dreamachine is the subject of the award winning National Film Board of Canada 2008 feature documentary film FLicKeR by Nik Sheehan.

saturdayindex wrote: My theory of the origin of the album's title is similar, if less developed: I always envisioned a group of people (friends and acquaintances) sitting/standing around a large campfire, simply bonding with one another, through both silence and talking. Just sort of staring into the flames, losing themselves in the flicker. If I'd known this information about the flicker of a campfire going at the alpha/theta range, I might have come up with the same idea.

How did you stumble across this article, or was it something you'd known for a while?

Berry, berry interesssteeeenk...

It's something I'd known for a while, but thought it had been posted on here at one point or another. After doing a search and seeing that it hadn't been brought up, thought I'd post a topic!

Noumenon wrote:

We usually imagine our music to have a visual element while we're writing it, so we were picturing this character losing his mind at the campfire and compressing weeks of events into a few hours, in that time-stretching way that acid fucks with your perception. – Michael Sandison

That was on Wikipedia.

Yeah, I'd read that before as well. Still, I'd guess that's more the "theme" of the album, rather than the source for the title. Who knows though.

red moon wrote:came across this, on a similar subject: dreamachines:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dreamachine

The Dreamachine is the subject of the award winning National Film Board of Canada 2008 feature documentary film FLicKeR by Nik Sheehan.

Very cool! I'll have to check that film out if I get the opportunity.

It means what I want it to mean to me.

it always reminds me of that period of time in summer - the sun has set yet there is a glow of navy blue around the hillsides. the branches create silhouettes, it's almost as if they were reaching out to grasp the last piece of sunlight. everything is still and silent. aeroplane trails are still able to be seen here and there.

it's then the build up to a campfire - the collecting of dead wood, location etc and what skytree mentioned - the ease of slipping into a state of meditation once gathered around the fire. and its no surprise to me the quote noumenon posted - typical boc!

Vexille wrote:It means what I want it to mean to me.

Ooooo tough guy.

The first post is what it means to me.

The post below mine is what it means to me.

see above.

dave_from_2001 wrote:

Peacock Tail is an Amazing Song.

I second the previous three posts.

Noumenon wrote:

We usually imagine our music to have a visual element while we're writing it, so we were picturing this character losing his mind at the campfire and compressing weeks of events into a few hours, in that time-stretching way that acid fucks with your perception. – Michael Sandison

That was on Wikipedia.

Shoot, I knew i read that somewhere and was thinking of it when first reading this thread!

I always considered "headphase" to just generally mean "state of mind", as opposite to being any sort of specific reference.