Brainwave "music" suggestions for meditation.

For those who don't know what brainwave technology is, here is a short wiki on it:

"Brainwave entrainment is any practice that aims to cause brainwave frequencies to fall into step with a periodic stimulus having a frequency corresponding to the intended brain-state (for example, to induce sleep), usually attempted with the use of specialized software. It purportedly depends upon a "frequency following" response on the assumption that the human brain has a tendency to change its dominant EEG frequency towards the frequency of a dominant external stimulus.[citation needed] Such a stimulus may be aural, as in the case of binaural or monaural beats and isochronic tones, photic (visual), as with a dreamachine, a combination of the two with a mind machine, or electromagnetic radiation."

There are all sorts of names and/or brands for this kind of technology. I'm not sure how much the differ from one another but they all basically attempt to achieve the same goal, as stated above. One of the most common names and type of brainwave technology one will probably see is "binaural beats".

Basically, it is sound that tries to induce your brainwaves (by mimicking them) into an altered state of mind.

For those who do know what I am talking about:

Does anybody have any suggestions that have helped with meditation? Sometimes i will use a free iphone brainwave app, but I'd really like some suggestions. I know there is a wide-range of this stuff out there and I have no idea what would be considered the best or most useful for meditation.

Thanks for reading! I hope this is in the right category, since it seems a lot of meditation subjects are talked about here.
Also, if you don't have suggestions but just want to talk about "brainwave technology" that is great too.

This music will take you to places you never dreamed existed.


www.youtube.com...

a reply to: blueman12

Hi blueman12, S&F, thank you for bringing this up. I find just about anything "unrecognizable" as in music scores or nature sounds helps me to relax into meditation. I mostly focus on the breath itself with very subtle audio in the background. I find that anything that is too structured though is distracting. If there is the hint of a known melody in it my mind wants to put words to it.

Personally I love Tibetan Singing bowls, used softly as a backdrop to the the breath.

Give this one a try and let me know what you think:

Tibetan Singing Bowls



Namaste,
YogaGinns

a reply to: olaru12

olaru12, that is a very nice one ... creates a tingling sensation in the body.

I simply love to meditate, too bad most people don't find the time to fit it into their lives. Even short sessions can have a profoundly relaxing effect on the mind-body-spirit.

Thank you for the link.
Namaste,
YogaGinns

a reply to: olaru12
Good stuff. Is there a version of this with Binaurals or Isochronics?

ETA: Take a look at the following links. They both seem to have good reputations. I have used products from both as well.
Brainwave Mind Voyages
Unexplainable

At the first link, some have subliminals, some don't. So make sure you check the description before you buy.

a reply to: blueman12

There are all kinds out there, I am sure the best stuff is legit high-tech entrainment and costs a good chunk of cash. I have tried several over the years. My personal favorites tend to be more like musical soundscape adventures that also have entrainment. The Shaman's Heart series by Byron Metcalf is really good.

A lot of the ones that are just tones are probably also really good, but for more newbie types like me, I like to start off with something more emotional to clear up all the pent up mental energy. Then maybe after you can tone. I think I need to try actual chants more or toning to the musical notes or frequencies. Because it is difficult to turn my thinking voice off. That thing is TENACIOUS!

I read binural beats and isotronic tones don't work, and I did try using them lots before I read that.

I know that you can induce these states with ELF radio waves directed to specific parts of the brain,

But I wouldn't risk listening to that crap, just gave me a headache.

There are other ways to see the other side.

a reply to: blueman12

For those who do know what I am talking about: 

Does anybody have any suggestions that have helped with meditation? 

I do. I suggest you don't listen to them, because I personally am skeptical having tried it a number of times during meditation and before sleep and it had negative result in my mood after waking up...
The particular track i listened to was called bach to the future... A Bach tune with binaural beats that was suppose to induce deep brainwave and wholegrain synchronicity, bla bla etc...
I tried it and I woke up feeling like crap every time... The times I didn't listen to it I miraculously didn't feel like crap . It doesn't take a neuroscientist to work out what was going on...

There was a thread about it on ATS... By member SkyFlotating...
It had loong posts about the supposed benefits... It was amazingly reading... But turned out to be - purely based on experience - completely dodgy... And I feel the whole thing is dodgy... The ATS thread in question is dodgy, the member behind the post is dodgy, the science is dodgy...

My sincere advice, is don't get into it.

double post

a reply to: blueman12

I think one of the best site around for brainwave / soundscape generation is mynoise.net...
It's made by Stephane Pigeon, a sound engineer / researcher. There's generators for various types of sound like Aural Scan, Binaural Harmonic, Isochronic Tones, etc. You can tweak every generator or use presets saved by other users. I could go on and on, there's some amazing sound you can create on there and you can tweak them for any particular state of mind you're looking for. It's also free...

a reply to: MrMaybeNot

That's a really fascinating website, thanks for sharing. I find that I cannot sleep without white noise, and I use various types of white noise or meditation music when reading for better concentration. I notice that they use OGG format, which apparently was the better of the compressed audio formats. I think there is a way to download audio as well.

a reply to: blueman12

These may help you to find a point of meditative peace if played in cycles...





NAMASTE*******

There are many ways one can induce a meditative state through the ACT of meditation. In other words: There are many forms of meditation AND meditative states we can experience.

From my personal experiences, due to not having the resources at my disposal as many do now, such as the internet, books, forums, etc when I was younger; I was shown what the ancients used as a tool when there was no such new age things as "brain wave binary beats" and so forth.

The heart is the first organ that becomes formed and fully operational in the womb. It is the first sound we hear.... and therefore, the contemplative practice of listening to the beating of your heart allows for more greater domains of the mind to open up than any new age brainwave technology ever can. Listen to your pulse. Listen to it thump away in your ear as you lay on the pillow. Allow it to consume you like it once did...

Also, we each ALREADY experience binaural beats naturally and can be heard and felt as a humming (due to strictly physiological reasons such as tiny hair fibres within the eardrum) when we allow our awareness to focus on it. It's almost akin to a deep pulsating muffled bass sound emanating from a nightclub far far away. It is subtle, yet undeniable.

Listening to your heart and focusing on that natural brainwave frequency within your eardrums is the quickest shortest route. All that new age brainwave stuff is akin to taking the train when one can easily fly using their own devices and vessel....

To be honest, I find all external sounds (except for Tibetan singing bowls and various ancient mantras or sounds) to be a distraction.

Those brainwave stuff: great way to make $$$ and dupe the masses.

ETA: "Also we can water the other energies, such as positive mental energy. They are in the music of Bach or Mozart, or in the verses of great poets." ~ Nicola Tesla

A mystic would choose Bach or Mozart. A new ager would choose brain wave beats.

a reply to: Soapusmaximus

I remember back in the 1980s, there was a lot of research into 7.83hz by Robert Becker and others. You don't hear from those types as much nowadays. I get the feeling 7.83 is semi-blacklisted by tptb, but that is just a guess.

As for ELF to specific regions of the brain, where do I sign up for that? Any recommendations. I think I need technology, because "I suck" at meditating and sleeping LOL

Do I sleep and listen to this? or will it make me sleep?