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Brainwave-affecting thingies.

The Return Of Rothkoid

21:51 / 23.02.04

Just wondering if anyone here's tried out things like this - it's a sound generator that apparently makes binaural beats with an aim to having an effect on the brain.

What can soundwaves do to thought-processing? I've no idea, but some of the ideas behind the presets do appeal, though I readily admit it could just be because of good copywriting.

Does anyone have any other computer program recommendations of this ilk? Had any good experiences? Any bad? Spill.

The Return Of Rothkoid

21:55 / 23.02.04

And, of course, I should say that I'm interested in seeing what magickal effects people've gleaned from such devices. OBE enhancement, easier meditation - what?

Mazarine

00:53 / 24.02.04

1. ROTHKY!

2. I used to see these things advertised in the back of Omni all the time, including the sugested use of wearing it to get the equivelant of a ton of sleep while on a plane. Some of the models I saw also featured a sort of VR mask to give you a light pulse as well as the sound. I was really interested in the idea, but I never bought one, mostly because I was like, ten, and didn't have a job or a credit card.

So while I have contributed little to aid your search, I too am interested, and you might check the ads in back issues of Omni to see the different models, and maybe look into whatever happened to the companies that made the devices.

gravitybitch

01:39 / 24.02.04

I bought a couple of cd's that feature binaural beats... I like them for the meditative states, but obviously those are not at all programable.

If you've got the spare cash and you're interested in quick entry to alpha, theta, and delta states, I'd say go for it. I'm not sure that I fully buy the claims for weight loss, etc; but I can see that you could program a light (to deep) hypnotic state and then give yourself suggestions...

gravitybitch

01:40 / 24.02.04

And, may I say, it's really good to see you back here!!

Less searchable M0rd4nt

12:04 / 24.02.04

Ah, I actually know a little about this! According to my old course tutor (the electronics/parapsychology/reiki/hypnotherapy dude), they certainly work in the sense that binaural beats can be used to manipulate one's mental state, inducing trancelike states.

I seem to recall that he was more into the 3Hz range as being where it was at meditation-wise, whereas these chaps are talking about slightly higher frequencies. Have to look into it a bit more...

(PS: ROTHKY!!!

)

Less searchable M0rd4nt

12:08 / 24.02.04

As to how soundwaves manipulate one's mental state: It's not the soundwaves so much as the frequency, in this case the frequency differential. One ear gets one frequency, the other ear gets a frequecy that's slightly higher, and the brain seems to pick up on the frequency created when you take the low frequency from the higher.

Like I say, I'm gonna have to look into this a bit more...

grant

13:53 / 24.02.04

It's related to the transcranial magnetic stimulation stuff I wrote about in the Lab a while ago. The brainwave machines do seem to work about as well as learning deep breathing or taking a meditation class works. Don't expect fireworks.

Ying

13:04 / 09.03.04

I am very interested in how sound can affect the mind. (Many practitioners seem to be obsessed with how things look, but not with how things sounds.) At first, I was very sceptic about the Brainwave Generator (as the program mentioned above is named) but decided to try it out. That day, I had a nasty case of tension headache and had already tried water, food, relaxation and painkillers. But after 5 minutes with the programme, it was gone. Real cool.

After that, I have tried with different settings etc. and it seems to work. (My favorite is my custom "Time for some action" setting, which makes you really awake and energic.) Only problem is that you might feel drowsy and sort of "floating away" after a session, regardless of the settings. Some people have told me that binaural beats might be harmful, but I have not found any information on that but is still looking.

macrophage

13:13 / 09.03.04

I need better headphones for this stuff since mine's are like obscure foreign language classes way back in stuffy rooms. Some of them I got off the net have been well dodgy amounting to horrid bleeping noises (I already suffer from tinnitus) but I got a cdrom from me local soopahmarket for a third of a tenner. Wonder what how the would sound on a 20K Rig????????

Lionheart

14:50 / 09.03.04

Well, here's exactly how they work:

If a sensory impulse is repeated at a constant rate the brain starts producing electrical signals of the same frequency. So if you hook up an EEG (electroencephalograph) machine up to your head (the machine measures the electrical activity of the brain) to your head and then start beating a drum 3 times a second then the EEG will show that your brain is responding with an electrical activity at a frequency of 3 hertz. You could do the same thing with the senses of touch, vision, and hearing.

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