mind machines and meditation, page-3

For what it's worth, I come from a (cultural) background that encourages meditation, but because I would like to think of myself (arrogantly?) as a man of science, I eschewed the practice(s) in order to separate the meditation from the philosophical (not technically correct to label it religious :\ ). Think Ivan Drago v Rocky in Rocky 4.

I subscribed to those Holosync ads that were so popular in the TV Guides about a decade ago.

I bought Level 1 only (apparently, there are 3, with Levels 2 & 3 using your own pre-recorded voice mixed back into the soundstream subliminally/subsonically or whatever term they use) because it sufficed (for then). It worked for me - my fractured thinking and high/low mood swings* (ie. deliriously happy eg. during the Uranium boom circa 2006; ready to seriously kill anyone who initiated insults/shoulder bumps [ya know, playground bs instead of walking away]) all lessened dramatically and my emotional responses modulated.

From memory, I think the cost was $450 (even for a placebo effect, I think it was worth it).

CAVEATS:
- Must have a proper set of headphones to fully transport the frequencies to your brain vis a vis your ears (that's what the instructions said anyway, I accepted). I bought the Sennheiser HD-595s

- If the sound of rain ticks you off...DO NOT GET this particular brand of brainwave CDs/soundfiles! Instead of relaxing you, it will ENRAGE you :-p! The ENTIRE CD set is set against a background of rainfall. Fortunately for me, ever since I was a baby, the sound of raindrops has been very soothing for me.

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Your choice of light & sound has re-piqued my interest: I have always believed a combination/synergy of the two would work better than just one component alone but I was too cheap/broke back then. Hopefully, the technology has improved a lot too.

Tangentially, I wonder if this sort of thing would work in the Oculus Rift.

Goodwill to you, I hope you find your Inner Peace.

I also agree with Enn's contention (much cheaper too!) for:

- 'walking meditation' (or crocheting/football/tennis/running etc. whatever one chooses)
&
- mindful meditation (eg I enjoy my food much better nowadays too, and it in turn, drives my preference for organic produce & cruelty-mitigated meats)

Another issue that skirts this is that I've found that CBT/RBT (Cognitive/Rational Behavioural Therapy) complemented my usage of the CDs --> simply adding a few extra steps/filters/questions (eg. "Why is this so?", "If you lash out, are you ready to deal with the aftermath?"; "I have THE WORST LUCK!", "Do you really have the worst luck? Compare yourself to a girl born in Sudan who has to walk miles everyday to gather water for survival. On the way to and fro, she is gang-raped by Janjaweed thugs") helps me from reacting illogically (as humanly possible)

* Who knows...I might be an undiagnosed bi-polar guy but I haven't bothered to check myself out.