Hi everyone,
I have recently started exploring the use of binaural beats as a means for meditation, lucid dreaming, and perhaps even OOBE (not sure if this last
one exists but I am eager to find out).
I am looking for someone with experience with this to provide guidance, tips, the optimal frequencies to achieve results...basically some help for an
eager newbie.
So far I have managed to get some pretty interesting phosphene effects (including the sensation of bright flashes in my peripheral and tunnel/morphing
shapes in the center of my 'vision'), an itching or tingling feeling in the center of my forehead, and lots of falling asleep by accident. 
Thanks in advance for any help you can give me...here or on U2U!!!
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reply to post by ImplausibleDeniability
I once tried a subliminal/binaural mood enhancing track paired with a strobe light. It was the only time I could say I felt that binaural audio
seemed to work for me.
Interestingly enough, after a few sessions I tried the strobe without the audio and got the same effect. My mind seemed to associate the video
stimuli with the audio. . It was a sort of placebo effect.
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Wow this thread got buried fast...already down to page 3!
Still hoping for some information!
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I support the use of binaural beats wholeheartedly. It’s a safe, legal way to alter your consciousness.
But you have to remember that the effects are limited. They are supposed to nudge (entrain) your brainwaves toward the desired frequency. I believe
they are also supposed to help synchronize the two hemispheres in the brain.
But it’s not like pushing a button and getting automatic results. The effects can be subtle.
There are several manufacturers that offer extensive programs claiming various effects, but they can be quite expensive. Definitely try some free
recordings first. To get the binaural effect, a quality recording is a must, as are headphones. Try to get a cd or a loss- less (uncompressed) audio
file. If you use a MP3 file, get the highest bit-rate that you can. That tends to mean the least compression, and the least loss of quality.
You should investigate what states of consciousness tend to be associated with various brainwave frequencies, but be skeptical of claims that one
frequency or another will give certain specific results automatically.
My experience is that the results fall into two broad categories: helping you concentrate or helping you relax. Then, with your mind nudged in a
particular direction, you decide what to do next. Concentration can be good for learning, paying attention, or refreshing a tired mind. Relaxation
is perhaps more interesting, and can be used for many things: meditation, creativity, stress reduction, or just getting ready to go to sleep.
Relaxation may also be helpful for hypnosis, meditation, out-of-body experience, visualization, insight, or spiritual experience. Use the recording
along with your usual procedure for the chosen activity.
If you use these recording in the daytime, give your brain some time to return to its normal state before doing anything potentially dangerous, like
going out for a drive.
You will find other threads here on ATS about this topic if you can get the search function to work.
Also try Google. Here are some key-words:
Brain Sync
Dr Jeffrey Thompson
The Monroe Institure
Hemi-Sync
Holosync
Paul Scheele
Binaural Beats
Isochronic Tones (This is a slightly different form of audio brain entrainment, but with similar results)
Centerpointe
Try combining key-words: “free binaural beat MP3”
Good Luck!
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reply to post by cimmerius
This is fantastic information, thanks so much!
I downloaded a couple of apps for my iphone...one for free and one for 99 cents.
I have seen some claims that the entrainment is best controlled by recordings that shift frequences, i.e. theta to alpha to back to theta, etc. Do you
agree with sort of claim?
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As for shifting frequencies, it all depends on what you are trying to do. For example, I like to listen to a relaxation cd before going to sleep. It
starts at the brainwave frequencies associated with normal waking consciousness and gradually takes you down to lower frequencies associated with
profound relaxation or sleep. I want to go to sleep and stay asleep, so that’s all I need.
The cd I use for that is called “Insight.” It has 3 tracks. Part one goes from waking to relaxed over twenty minutes. Part two holds you in a
relaxed state for twenty minutes. Part three brings you up from relaxed to a normal state. The idea is that you can take a relaxing one-hour round
trip vacation so to speak. What I do is to program my cd player to play the first track once and then to repeat the second holding track several
times. By then I’m asleep. I don’t play the last track at all because that would wake me up.
On the other hand, recordings combining binaural beats with a meditation or hypnotic suggestion usually end with a suggestion that you will come back
to waking consciousness feeling refreshed and energized. The binaural beats come back up to guide you.
One of the things I like about binaural beats is that they can be used in so many ways. Some recordings just sound like static or flowing water.
Some are combined with music.
Some are combined with hypnosis, guided meditations, guided spirit journey, progressive relaxation, coaching for astral projection—just about any
new-age topic.
One other tip. Changing brainwave frequencies is sort of like driving a stick-shift car. You can’t go from high gear to low gear without going
through the gears in-between. So the recordings that work best for me always start at normal waking state of mind and then take you gradually where
you want to go, sometimes with a spoken relaxation sequence like a hypnotist might use, or with a slow change in the binaural beats.
There are adjustable commercial computer programs available like “brain wave generator,” or “neuro Programmer” that claim all kinds of pre
arranged frequencies for different purposes. It might be worth checking out their websites—not necessarily to buy, but just to read their
explanation of how the process is supposed to work.
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