At a designated temple for the interview location. Passing through the mountain gate and climbing a long staircase, a woman holding a singing bowl in her hand greeted me with a warm smile.

Eri Sasaki (hereinafter referred to as Eri) is a meditation expert and engages in a wide range of activities as a model and environmentalist. She regularly conducts meditation guides through Instagram Live, and shares Vlogs on YouTube featuring eco-tourism experiences swimming with wild dolphins, all accompanied by Eri's lively narration. She provides a variety of meditation journeys on a daily basis.

Eri has been one of the colleagues providing advice since the launch of VIE Chill/Zone. However, upon re-evaluating and measuring her brainwaves this time, there were shocking results that seemed like a system glitch!?

 

Eri's Chill method/Zone method

 

・Chill method 1: Practice grandma's wisdom!
・Chill method 2: Don't push yourself too hard. If someone is feeling stressed, it will be felt by the recipient.
・Zone method ①: When meditating, you are in a zone state.
・Zone method ②: Listen to the sound of the singing bowl

 

Go to bed early, get up early, be hungry, and don't push yourself too hard. The most important thing now is to put “grandma’s wisdom” into practice.

 

--- As a meditator, I believe you work to bring peace to people's minds every day, but do you have any relaxation or concentration methods in your own routine?

To be honest, over the past decade, I've tried various things, but now I've come back to basics and am actually practicing what my grandmother used to say (laughs): early to bed, early to rise, not pushing too hard, and eating until about 80% full. Rather than incorporating too many new things into my routine and exceeding my capacity, I think it's important to focus on the basics for now.

 

--- If you have a basic routine in place, will you be able to freely switch between relaxing time and concentrating time?

My work doesn't necessarily have to be done at a specific time, so rather than focusing on concentration, it's more important for me to gauge whether my own motivation is high. Once I start, I naturally enter a mode of concentration.

I set my devices, such as smartphones, to sleep mode or silent mode, as they are things I can't control on my own. This helps to exclude them from my consciousness.

--- Are there times when you don't feel motivated or don't want to do anything?

Yes, there is. But isn't that natural? Just like spring comes because of winter, you can come up with the next idea because you have time to do nothing, so you have to do it! That's what I'm starting to feel like.

I don't believe that the time spent necessarily correlates with the quality, so it's more about trusting myself and pushing through to the end with that belief. When I genuinely can't come up with that final idea, I honestly communicate with the client. I don't force myself to finish within a certain timeframe, and I avoid putting unnecessary pressure or burden on myself.

Especially when producing meditation programs, if someone is feeling stressed or emitting negative vibes, it can influence the energy received by those engaging in the program.

 

--- When you are a meditation guide, I believe you change the location from time to time, such as at a temple or at the beach. How do you decide on the location?

I do it wherever feels right on that day and at that moment. Even if I plan ahead, there are days when I'm not in the mood, or situations where I can't deliver as intended. Rather than expecting everything to go smoothly, I feel more alive when there are dissonances or unexpected events.

Perhaps those could be considered bugs, but I believe it's through the accumulation of such 'bugs' that new harmonies are born, and humanity has evolved. The capacity of our bodies and minds to adapt to those situations becomes more crucial in that context.

Isn't that what nature is all about? No one, neither plants nor insects, knows whether it will be sunny or rainy tomorrow, so I think strength lies in whether or not you have the ability to survive despite that.

The sound of a bell possesses a mysterious power that resonates at the cellular level, prompting a sense of awe. The sensation is more exhilarating than relaxing, similar to the state of meditation.

 

--- The singing bowl you brought today has a very powerful and mysterious sound.

That's right. The sound of a bell is special, isn't it? Wood and stone are natural materials and have existed since ancient times, but metal was created even after earthenware was created, so this was the first sound humans heard at that time.
I believe that the memory of when our ancestors first heard the sound of a bell remains in our DNA, and we feel it as something sacred at the cellular level. The sound of church bells also feels mysterious.

The sound of stones is calming, while the sound of bells has a startling, exhilarating quality. For me, it might be similar to a meditative state. During meditation, it feels more like entering a zone where consciousness is clear and focused, rather than a state of relaxation.

 

--- Besides meditating, are there any activities that bring you closer to a meditative state?

I believe meditation is unique to itself. While certain stages of yoga or moments like finely chopping ingredients may feel somewhat similar to a meditative state, they are not exactly the same. During meditation, there is an awakening of consciousness in a completely different dimension, where there is no judgment or mental judgment at play.

I recently had surgery and was given general anesthesia, and I thought that the feeling when you wake up from anesthesia is similar to the feeling you get when you wake up from a meditative state. So I woke up from general anesthesia in about 2 seconds with the same feeling of waking up from meditation as usual (lol) I was able to recognize the stages before I woke up and thought to myself, ``Oh, I can't speak properly right now.'' It was.

 

--- So your brain is at rest during a meditative state to the same extent as when you are under anesthesia... Now, I would like to take a peek at your brain waves at that time!

This time, we used the VIE DEVICE to measure Eri's CHILL state brainwaves and ZONE state brainwaves.

Looking at Eri's brainwaves, it is evident that during the meditative state, the power across all frequency bands significantly decreases compared to the focused state. A notable feature is the slight presence of gamma frequency during meditation.

Furthermore, when measuring brainwaves during meditation while listening to Neuro music, there is a noticeable increase in power in the gamma frequency band compared to other frequency bands.

Eri practices Tibetan Tantric meditation and 'Meditation on Compassion' on a daily basis.

The results are reminiscent of a pioneering study from the University of Wisconsin-Madison titled 'Superhumans: The remarkable brain waves of high-level meditators.' This study highlighted instances of exceptionally strong gamma waves measured during meditation by Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche, an expert in meditation and a high-ranking Tibetan Buddhist monk.

 

--- How did you feel about measuring your own brain waves?

Looking at this graph, it seems that I can meditate even with people talking around. Perhaps, if someone were to say, 'Meditate while having a conversation,' I could do it (lol). It's challenging to convey the experience through words, so it's great that we could demonstrate being in a meditative state!

 

---　Eri, thank you very much for today!

While walking and observing the temple's plants, the setting sun cast a straight beam of light onto Eri's profile as she returned. The ability to seamlessly transition from lively conversation to deep meditative states is a skill honed over many years, evident from her usual vibrant demeanor to a momentarily profound meditative state.

You can experience Eri's meditation guides on Instagram Live.

Click here for Eri's Instagram

VIE Magazine will continue to introduce the Chill method and Zone method of people who are active in various fields. Next time we look forward to!

Eri Sasaki

 

Model/Reporter/Meditator/Environmentalist

From the age of 11, Eri developed an interest in meditation and environmental activism, starting her journey through self-study and meditation at temples. Currently, she actively organizes meditation sessions, serves as a mindfulness instructor, and, as an ambassador for the Ministry of the Environment in forests, rivers, and seas, works towards enlightening sustainable lifestyle shifts. Pursuing the well-being of both the mind and the environment, she advocates for the concept that inner peace equals global peace.

Instagram: @erisasakimeditationjourney
YouTube: @erisasakimeditationjourney